


Post-Traumatic

by Castiels_Angel_Radio



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Dean Winchester Can't Cope, Dean Winchester Has Nightmares, Dean Winchester Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Hurt Dean Winchester, M/M, Soldier Castiel, Soldier Dean, W/ non-supernatural characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2019-06-24 09:28:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15627738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castiels_Angel_Radio/pseuds/Castiels_Angel_Radio
Summary: Dean always said that he'd be the one to be lost to war. He just didn't think that it would happen like this.





	1. M.I.A.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's tried everything to forget that horrible mistake, one that cost him his happiness.

__

  _-"TOC this is Bravo Two, we're talking heavy fire! Bravo Three through Six are on board Avenger 1-4, waiting on Bravo One. Do you copy?"-_

 

_-"Copy Bravo Two, be advised heavy forces coming in from the North"-_

 

_-"Copy TOC, Bravo Two out"-_

 

_-"Two this is One, do you copy?"-_

 

_-"I copy Bravo One"-_

 

_-"Making my approach now, board the chopper and tell them to take off"-_

 

_-"Sir, you'll never make it in time"-_

 

_-"I know, I'm coming up the North stairwell, have them meet me on the roof"-_

 

_-"Yes Sir, Two out"- Dean shoots at the Taliban running at him, he nails them in the head, dead center between the eyes, like he always does. He turns and runs for Avenger 1-4, he boards the chopper and relays Bravo Ones' orders to the pilots._

 

_When the chopper's in position the rebel forces start coming over the cliffs North of the river, they open fire on Avenger 1-4._

 

_"Taking fire!" The pilot yells over the sound of gun fire as bullets rip through the tail of the chopper._

 

_"Return fire, return fire" Dean starts picking off the snipers and RPG carriers. -"Bravo One where the hell are you? We're hit and can't stay here much longer"-_

 

_The chopper pivots and the gunners finish off the rest of the fighters on the cliff._

 

_Loud alarms sound off in the cockpit "Damnit, we ruptured a reserve fuel line. We get hit by anything else and we go up in flames, we have to go now"_

 

_"Not yet! Damnit he said he'd be here" the chopper hovered next to the roof with about a twenty foot gap between it._

 

_"He's got five seconds before we have to pull out"_

 

 _Dean hits the button on his vest to use his radio -_ _"Bravo One, copy? . . . . . Say again: Bravo One, do you copy?"-_

 

_-"Copy Bravo Two, I'm coming up"- Just then a man bursts through a door and runs at the chopper._

 

_"Come on! You're gonna have to jump!" Dean clips into the safety harness so he doesn't fall out._

 

_Bravo One picks up speed and charges down the side of the roof toward the chopper. He gets closer and closer soon he's at the edge of the roof, he jumps. He flies into the air, his momentum pushing him toward the chopper. Dean holds on and leans out, he stretches his arm out. Bravo One reaches out to grab Dean's hand, their fingers touch._

 

_. . . A gun shot rings out . . ._

 

_His head snaps back, for a second Bravo One freezes in mid air before his body goes limp and he plummets a hundred feet, head first into the river below._

 

_"CAAAAAAAAASSS! NOOOOOO! CAAAAS!" Dean screams and unclips his safety harness. Bravo Three and Four grab him to keep him in the chopper. "No! NO! NOO!_

**` ` ` `**

"CAAAAAAAAS!" He screams as he wakes violently from his nightmare. Dean was sweaty, his heart was racing and he was breathing heavily. He's had nightmares about the mission before but none as vivid as this, it was like he was actually back there this time.

 

It's almost been a year since that mission, one year since Dean lost Cas, his leader, his bestfriend, his husband. He had trouble when he first got back home, every morning would end in tears when he woke and reached over to feel Cas beside him, only he wasn't there. It still happens from time to time, especially after a good dream. Sometimes he could tell when it was a dream but that didn't matter, all that mattered was that they were together again, even if it only lasted for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> M.I.A. {Missing in Action}


	2. Attack on Echo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bravo Teams deployment is pushed up after a devastating loss, Dean will have to hold it together for another harsh deployment or risk being pulled off of active duty.

-"Echo Team you are clear to the target building . . Copy?"-

  
-"Copy TOC, approaching now"-  
  
Several Officers along with Bravo Team watch from the Tactical Operation Center as Echo Team enters the building and moments later the building explodes.  
  
-"Echo Team does anyone copy? . . Say again Echo Team do you copy?"-  
  
No one responds  
  
                                                    **° ° ° °**  
  
"Tell me Dean how do you feel?"  
  
"How do I feel?"  
  
Dean was sitting in his therapists office, the third one in a year. He didn't want to talk to a therapist but it's mandatory after something traumatic happens. His first therapist couldn't get him to talk about anything, losing Cas made him shut down completely. The second time was when Ash, another member of his team, died on mission. Again Dean said he was fine, that everything was okay. His past therapists had believed him and gave him the okay to return to active duty. This time he got matched up with Garth and no matter how much he said he was fine or that nothing was wrong Garth didn't believe him.  
  
"I feel fine doc"  
  
"Dean, you watched your brothers die"  
  
"Yeah, so what?"  
  
"This doesn't bother you?"  
  
"I see death all the time"  
  
"You knew them, you trained them"  
  
"That doesn't mean that I need to talk about it!"  
  
"Dean wait" But he was already out the door.

**_______________________________________________________________**

**Inv#085-40                                                                   1/6/2019**

                                     **Patient Assessment**

 **Name:** Winchester, Dean  

 **1st Session:** 1/6/19                         **Last Session:**

 **Was the patient cooperative?**                **Yes□       No■**

Said he was fine but upon asking his feelings about Echo Team he got defensive and rigged, left before any progress was made.                                                                                                     

**What progress has been made?**

None                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

**Future sessions needed?**                       **Yes■**         **No□**

**What treatment do you recommend?**

To be determined                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                **Signature** Dr. Garth Fitzgerald IV     

 **_______________________________________________________________**  
  
                                                  *** * * ***  
  
Dean waits in his bunk hoping that his team will be given permission to execute their mission. It's been three days since the attack on Echo Team and everyone was tired of just sitting around doing nothing.  
  
Since he was such a control freak, Dean would have his team check in with him every hour unless he was notified that they needed to be gone for longer. They were together most of the time anyway.  
  
Sam checks in first, he always did.  
  
"Bravo Five checking in" Sam stood by Dean's bunk  
  
"Hey Sammy" Dean sits up and looks around "Where's the demon?"  
  
Sam smiles "I let the kid walk him for a bit"  
  
"Oh you didn't" Dean smiles slightly and looks up at his moose of a brother.  
  
"Oh I did" They both chuckle and Dean gets up and walks the short distance to the door which Sam left open. They close the door after exiting the small bunk shack when Benny walks up.  
  
"Bravo Three checking in, Sir" Benny stood in front of Dean, his hand flat above his brow in a salute.  
  
"Cut that sir shit Benny" He chuckles "And what's with the salute? You tryna get me to pull another favor with Bobby for ya?"  
  
Benny drops his hand and laughs "Of course not but uh . . if you're offerin'"  
  
"Hell no, last time I had to buy him some expensive ass whiskey"  
  
"Worth a shot" Benny shrugs.  
  
The three of them make their way over to the makeshift gym, it was outside and shaded with camo tarps along with other concealing materials. They find Gabriel practically drooling over Alpha Teams sniper who was currently shirtless and sweaty.  
  
"Ooo someone's in love" Benny mocks his friend.  
  
Gabriel quickly ducks behind the weights before he could be seen. When he's clear he runs over to his teammates.  
  
"That was not funny" Gabriel pushes Benny not enough to make him fall but enough to show he was serious.  
  
"Sorry pal, I'm bored" Benny smiles  
  
"Mmhhmm . . oh yeah Bravo Four reporting for duty Sir"  
  
Dean shoves him "Gabriel shut up" They all laugh and his phone goes off "It's Bobby"  
  
                      >Missions a go, get the team  
                              together when they're ready<  
  
"Alright boys let's find the kid and get to Ops"  
  
"It's about time" Sam puts his arm around his brother and Benny "Lets go I left Kevin outside the cafeteria"  
  
Just as he said it Kevin came running around one of the soldiers walking through the base. "He's gonna kill me!"  
  
"Woah whoa Kev slow down" Dean steps in front of Kevin "Whose going to kill you?"  
  
"Lucifer!" There was loud barking then Kevin was on the ground after the two year old Belgian Malinois tackled him. "No no no" Lucifer starts licking Kevin's face.  
  
The rest of the team starts laughing as Sam walks over and grabs the leash off the ground. "Come on boy" The dog jumps off Kevin and wags his tail as he lays down and looks up at Sam. "Good boy"  
  
"What? He attacked me"  
  
Sam laughs and leans down to pet his K-9 partner "He didn't attack you, he was having some fun weren't you boy?" He's answered with a bark and a lick on the cheek.  
  
"Alright Alright now that we got the kid we can go" Dean heads for the Ops center, Benny and Gabriel follow.  
  
"Go where?" Kevin takes the hand Sam offered to help him up.  
  
"Mission was approved, now we go and see where we're going"  
  
"Sam can I ask you something?" Sam nods "Okay why Lucifer?"  
  
"Well Lucifer was always my favorite Archangel, despite him being evil. I don't know I've always had a connection with him"  
  
"What do you mean?" Kevin looks up at Sam.  
  
"Well he didn't agree with his father, like me, and like my father, his cast him out"  
  
"You're Dad kicked you out?"  
  
"Yeah, he didn't like the idea of me going to college instead of enlisting like he did"  
  
"Well looks like you're following daddy's little plan now. You sound more like Michael than Lucifer"  
  
"I enlisted because my girlfriend Jess, she died of a heroin overdose. She said she wanted to try all the "fun drugs" while she was still young" Kevin looks at the ground. "It turns out the drugs came from here" He looks back up at Sam "Afghanistan?"  
  
"Yeah . . they quadrupled the dose but failed to let the distributors know. Their product hit America and no one knew about the dose adjustment, so when Jess thought she was trying just half a dose, she was taking triple what she could handle. The doc's say it was like someone set fire to her insides, her temperature was so high it boiled her blood away. So yeah I changed my mind, not because of my father but so I can hunt down every last one of those dirtbags and keep someone else's loved one from dying like mine"  
  
"Sam I'm really sorry"  
  
"Save it, you didn't know"  
  
                                                   **• • • •**  
  
The Ops center, or most commonly known as TOC, was a fairly large room, it could hold up to thirty people at once without it feeling crowded. It's where missions are planned and where there observed as well. Bobby was the Officer in charge when it came to missions, for the most part he's the one that Bravo talks to over their coms when they say TOC. Charlie, their top intelligence analyst gives updates on enemy forces that would be hidden from the Team and last but not least Crowley. He was their CIA contact, he provided most of the intel they received for missions or targets they were after. The CIA was also responsible for approving or denying any and all missions.  
  
Bobby, a middle aged man with short brown hair and a beard, stands in front of a map that's pinned to the wall as he waits for everyone to arrive. Sam and Kevin come in and sit at the table in the center of the room and Lucifer lays by Sam's feet.  
  
"'Bout time you showed up . . Now we can begin, Crowley" Bobby takes a step back and lets Crowley have the floor. He walks over and passes Dean some files, who hands the rest of them out to his team. The former SEAL turned CIA agent was a little older than Bobby and he was always wearing a black suit  
  
"That is the location of Echo Teams last transmission, you boys are going to check it out see if our intel team missed anything, because nothing beats boots on the ground to actually gain intel. I'm telling you up front it's gonna be a nasty sight so you might need to prepare yourself first."  
  
Sam puts his file down and raises his hand "Sam this isn't grade school you don't need to raise your hand"  
  
"Didn't want to interrupt the king of hell again after last time" Sam puts his hand down.  
  
Everyone laughs except Crowley "I don't appreciate that title thank you very much"  
  
"Although it does seem to fit" Bobby chuckles with everyone else.  
  
"Moose carry on with your question" Crowley is very much unamused.  
  
"Yeah uh why was Echo even up there in the first place? I mean there's nothing out in Kabul's desert for miles"  
  
"That was true last time you were here, but the enemy has expanded their territory. Echo was sent to burn some poppy fields, we were trying to cut back on the heroin epidemic spreading through Kabul and the surrounding cities. They were looking into a small cash house to find the locations of larger fields when they met their untimely demise."  
  
Everyone falls silent. . . "So when do we leave?" Dean was the first to speak.  
  
"Right now" Bobby takes a step next to Crowley. "Got the chopper's fueled up and waitin" Then walks over to a pile of gear and picks up a clear case that had five small devices in it. "Now I'm gonna let the expert here explain what this is"  
  
"Thank you" A petite woman with red hair that was neatly slicked back in a bun, takes the case from Bobby.  
  
"Yeah Charlie, show the old man who's queen" That earned Gabriel a look of annoyance from Bobby.  
  
"Thanks Gabe" Charle smiles "You guys are going to love these bad boys" She opens the case and slides it to the middle of the table.  
  
"Awesome new coms" Dean grabs one  
  
"Yep and these are waterproof, freeze proof, dust resistant and are unbreakable. The new design also prevents any loss or unwanted removal of your coms. To remove them simply twist and pull" The rest of the team grabs their's as Lucifer gets up and walks over to Charlie. "Oh I didn't forget about you" She picks up a new dog harness, he barks and wags his tail.  
  
"Hey hey, you're finally getting a new work harness buddy" Charlie tosses it to Sam and Lucifer runs to his master, sitting in front of him and wagging his tail happily. "Comes with an HD camera also dust, freeze and waterproof and the range of connectivity is tripled" Sam scratches behind his partners ears and looks up at Charlie. "Thanks Charlie, you're the best" They both smile at each other.  
  
"Alright boys It's time to gear up" Dean gets up and walks to the door, the rest of the team exits and heads to the war room where all their gear is. Dean was pulled aside by Bobby before he could leave. "Dean the brass is wonderin' why you haven't passed on the Bravo Two call-sign, you were promoted to Captain of Bravo Team"  
  
"No . . I may be Captain but Cas is always gonna be One" Dean leaves and gets to the war room with everyone else, he changes into his work clothes and straps on his bulletproof vest then his holster around his leg for his pistol and finally his baby, or at least his work baby, that would be his HK416 assault rifle. Dean grabs his helmet and puts his com in his ear. He attaches the wire that leads to the top left of his vest where a black piece is clipped in, it has three buttons, the one on top connects him and only him to TOC, the one on the front connects him to his team and the one on the side connects him to both at the same time.  
  
The rest of the team gears up too, Sam is always done first so he has plenty of time to put Lucifer's new harness on and make sure it's fitted to him perfectly. After their gear is on and their packs strapped, Bravo makes their way to the chopper.  
  
                                                    **• • • •**  
  
It's not that long of a trip, maybe an hour tops before they're on the ground again. The building where Echo was killed is barely standing. The whole place has an ominous feeling to it and the weather wasn't helping with all the grey clouds that resemble the smoke that once shrouded their brothers.  
  
Lucifer is always the first to enter a building that hasn't been cleared yet, he lets the team know if there are any explosive ordnance in the area by sitting and alerting the rest of the team with a quiet growl. After the building is cleared the rest of the team go inside and see if they can find anything to help the investigation.  
  
Benny tosses some rubble around "I got nothin' over here" Dean goes through some paperwork that was somehow untouched by the explosion. Sam does another sweep through the building with Lucifer to make sure that it was free of explosives. Kevin stays close to Dean like he was told to and helps Benny look through the scraps on the floor and Gabriel is set up on the roof for overwatch.  
  
-"Four this is Two, tell me what you see"-  
  
-"Sand, sand and more fucking sand"-  
  
That makes the team smile and Dean chuckles  -"Copy Four, let me know if that changes"-  
  
After a half hour the building was searched top to bottom, twice and nothing gave them a clue as to who did it. Dean was about to radio in to TOC when Gabriel's voice came over everyone's com.  
  
-"Bravo Two this is Bravo Four, I have movement coming from the East, looks to be one individual, no weapons from what I can see"-  
  
-"Copy Four, keep your eye on target we'll be waiting for them"-  
  
Once the person got close enough Gabriel could see that he was wearing an American soldier's uniform. -"Boss . . It looks like he's one of us"-  
  
-"Copy Four"- "Don't get comfortable just yet, I got a bad feeling about this" Dean readys his pistol as the stranger approaches them. His face is bloody and looked to be pretty cut up, he falls to the floor when he takes another step and appears to have blacked out.  
  
"Check him" Sam lets go of the leash and Lucifer sniffs all around and over the man, he runs back to Sam and lays down indicating that it was clear.  
  
Dean kneels beside him and flips the man on his back, he had redish brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard. "That look like Echo Four to you?"  
  
Benny takes a look "Think so"  
  
"You think so?" Sam asks.  
  
"Yeah I didn't know anyone from Echo well, and we only did that one mission with them back in Ghazni. That was what . . Almost a year ago? I'm pretty sure its him"  
  
-"TOC this is Bravo Two we've found a member of Echo still alive"-  
  
-"Bravo Two say again"-  
  
-"We've found Echo Four"-  
  
-"What's his condition?"-  
  
-"Looks like hell but he's still breathing"-  
  
-"Copy Two, we'll tell the pilot to start 'er up"-  
                    -"This is TOC to Avenger 1-4, start immediate evaluation protocol, Bravo Team should be there soon"- Charlie radios the chopper pilot.  
  
Dean and Sam grab Echo Fours uniform by his shoulders and start dragging him to the chopper.  
  
-"Bravo Four, we're leaving. Pack it up"-  
  
-"Copy Two"- Gabriel hustles downstairs and regroups with the rest of his team.  
  
                                                   **• • • •**  
  
The LZ was half a mile from the explosion sight, they do this to ensure that they can land and take off without being shot down. There was no cover from the building to the chopper, they were completely exposed and no one like it.  
  
-"TOC this is Bravo Two, we're almost at the LZ"-  
  
-"Copy Bravo Two, but uh some new information just came in that I think you need to hear"-  
  
-"Copy TOC"-  
  
-"Hello boys" Crowley's voice replaces Bobby's "After close examination of what was left it appears that Echo was stripped of their uniforms and they recovered six bodies. So whoever's with you isn't from Echo"-  
  
-"We hear you TOC, proceeding with exfil"- "Get some cuffs on him now"  
  
Sam grabs thick zip tie cuffs from his pants pocket and slips them over the strangers wrists, he's about to zip them when the man kicks Sam's knee causing Bravo Five to fall to the ground. The enemy grabs Sam's gun and aims it at Dean but before he could shoot Lucifer lunges at the man and rips the gun out of his hand.  
  
Dean grabs his pistol and aims it at the man. "On the ground now! . . I said on the ground! . . Kid translate"  
                                                            **"!په ځمکه کې راکښته شئ"**  
  
  
The man looks at Kevin.  
**"!مړینه د امریکایانو په اوریدلو کې غوره ده"**  
  
"He said death is better than to listen to the Americans"  
  
The man charges at Kevin so Dean shoots him in the leg.  
  
"Woah . . Thanks Dean"  
  
"No problem Kev"  
  
"RPG!" Gabriel dives to the ground as the rocket flies past his head, it hits the sand a few feet away from him and explodes.  
  
-"Bravo all call signs, be advised there's movement coming from the East. Four vehicles each carrying about five soldiers, about a hundred and fifty yards out and closing in fast"-  
  
-"Little late there on the warning TOC"- Gabriel gets up and shoots one of the guys about to fire another RPG at them.  
  
-"Sorry Bravo, we lost the drone for a second there"-  
  
"Hit the driver's and RPG'S first!" Dean shoots at the driver of the truck farthest to the left, the driver swerves into the truck next to it causing them to collide.  
  
"Luke go to the chopper" Lucifer barks then hightails it up the small sandy hill and doesn't stop till he reaches the chopper.  
  
Sam and Benny get the rest of the RPG'S while Gabriel shoots at the gas tanks of the stopped trucks, he hits one and shortly after they explode.  
  
"Damn good shootin brother" Benny complements the sniper.  
  
"Come on there's eight left!" Dean hits another driver. "Seven"  
  
Sam gets two more in the back of one truck "Five"  
  
Gabriel shoots the last soldier in the truck to the left "Four"  
  
"Bravo Six, make sure the target doesn't escape" Dean kneels and tries for the last driver.  
  
"Got it" Kevin grabs the zip cuffs and puts them around the enemy's wrists, making sure to zip them tightly. He pulls his phone out and snaps a picture of the guys face before another RPG flies past them, exploding closer than they would have liked. It sends Sam and Benny flying two feet before they land back on the ground. Dean was farther away but the impact still forced him to the ground making him blackout. Gabriel runs and pulls Kevin out of the way of a second RPG, that nearly misses his head. The soldier that he had zip tied rushes to his feet despite being shot in the thigh and runs as fast as he can toward the truck still heading towards them. Once the soldier reaches the truck they stop and let him in then turn around and start driving away.  
  
Dean regains consciousness as bullets whizz past him, he grabs his gun and returns fire as he crab walks back to where Sam and Benny are.  
  
"Benny . . Sam you alright?"  
  
"Yeah we're fine" Sam coughs a little and Benny helps him up then Dean.  
  
"What about the kid?" Dean keeps his eye on the truck as it drives out of range.  
  
"I got him" Gabriel and Kevin walk up to the rest of the team.  
  
"Son of a bitch!" Dean kicks the sand as the truck disappears behind a hill. "Come on we have to go"  
  
The team gets back to the chopper, they board it and take off immediately.  
  
"TOC this is Bravo Two, we lost the target . . Heading back now.  
  
"Copy Two"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TOC {Tactical Operations Center}
> 
> CIA {Central Intelligence Agency}
> 
> SEAL {SEa Air Land}
> 
> LZ {Landing Zone}
> 
> RPG {Rocket Propelled Grenade}


	3. Empty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bravo and Alpha are approved for their missions but things don't quite go as planned.

__

_It's early in the morning, Dean was sitting out on the balcony at his house. The sun was halfway behind the clouds with a small breeze, cold and soft. He opens his eyes when he hears footsteps behind him, he looks up to see Cas walking towards him. He comes over and sits in Dean's lap. "Mornin' Angel" Cas smiles and kisses Dean's cheeks then his forehead then places a long kiss to his lips. "Good morning babe" Cas smiles brightly and kisses Dean again who then wraps his arms around Cas' waist._

                                              **` ` ` `**

Dean wakes up with a smile that quickly disappears once he opens his eyes. "Damn it!" He whispers under his breath as he closes his eyes again.

 

                                                  **° ° ° °**

"How do you feel today Dean?"

"I feel fine"

"I don't believe you"

"I'm fine!"

"It says here that you lost the target in a mission, that was a few days ago?" Garth looks up from Dean's file.

"Yeah we lost an asset that could have gotten us some heavy hitters, thats all" Dean crosses his arms.

Garth makes a note "How did you lose the asset?"

"There was an ambush . . he got away"

"Do you blame yourself?"

"What? No . . I couldn't have known that was going to happen!" Dean gets a text from Bobby.

                                   >New intel get here ASAP<

"I didn't mean any-"

"Save it. I need to get back, I have a mission to plan"

**______________________________________________________________**

**Inv#085-41                                                                 1/13/2019**

** Patient** **Assessment**

**Name:** Winchester, Dean

 **1st Session:** 1/6/19                                   **Last Session:** 1/6/19 

**Was the patient cooperative?            Yes■         No□**

Said a few words about his previous mission.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

**What progress has been made?**

Made some improvement.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

**Future sessions needed?                   Yes■         No□**

**What treatment do you recommend?**

To be determined                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                       **Signature**   Dr. Garth Fitzgerald IV  

**_____________________________________________________________**

 

                                                *** * * ***

Dean leaves the therapy section of the hospital building and hurries over to Ops. He sits down with the rest of the team and grabs the last file on the table. "So what do we got?"

Bobby clears his throat. "Thanks to the picture that the kid took we now know that the imposter you thought was Echo Four was really Colonel Aaban Addon"

Dean looks up. "Aaban Addon?"

"He owned a few poppy fields that Echo burned, so it's lookin' like retaliation for it"

"Do we know where he could've gone?" Dean flips through the pages of the file that listed off what the Colonel has done, including killing American Soldiers and bombing schools filled with children.

Crowley steps up. "We know of two hideouts, one is an outpost in Kabul, a little farther East from the building Echo was raiding and the other is a compound in Kandahar. That one will need higher approval to execute a mission but the outpost is a go so you'll start there"

"Great what do we need to know?" Dean puts the file down.

"Not much it's your standard outpost. You got guards in the towers for overwatch two, three max. Four guards inside and of course look out for ol' red"

"Sounds easy enough, what's the catch?"

"Unless something unexpected pops up, nothing"

"How we gettin' there?"

"Trucks are loaded and ready to go"

Dean gets up and heads for the door "Alright lets go"

The team gears up and they get on the trucks. The drive was only twenty minutes to the outpost and it looked to be as Crowley described. When they get closer Sam lets Lucifer off his leash . . "Suche" . . And has him search the outpost . . . It was empty.

 

                                                **• • • •**

_His hands were tied behind his back and Cas was fucking into him from behind, pinning him to the wall with a hand on his back and one on his hip."Do you take pride in disobeying my orders?"_

_"No master chef!" Dean was whimpering and trying to keep in his moans. They usually don't do this kind of thing at work but Dean disobeyed direct orders to not leave the safety of the base and Cas thought that he could make an exception to you know, teach Dean a lesson. "Please . . Please Sir! . . Ahhh! god . . 'm so close"_

_"Not tonight. Not until I see that you can follow my orders"_

_"Yes Sir" Dean whimpers, his grunting getting louder as the minutes tick by until he finally feels Cas' hips falter and that hot, sticky feeling of his husband's release. What he didn't expect was for Cas to start slamming into that one spot that always makes him come instantly when he was so close "Fuck! FU-hhmmm!...mmm!" If he hadn't put his hand over Dean's mouth half the base probably would have heard. Cas had a thing for suprising Dean, he loved how reactive his husband was. After Dean's come down from his high he realized that his wrists were untied and he was laying on his bunk with Cas next to him. "Thought you were gonna leave me hangin there" He smiles and kisses Cas._

_"You lasted through to midnight . . . Happy Anniversary babe"_

                                              **` ` ` `**

Dean wakes up with a smile again but this time it stays. He lets himself be happy while it would last because today was infact their anniversary, it would have been their 6th and it's his first without Cas.

 

                                            **☆ ☆ ☆ ☆**

The morning was longer than Dean would have liked, his happiness fading before lunch. By the time the team gets called to Ops the sun had nearly set. 

"What do we got? When do we go?" 

"Dean . . . No time for chitchat as usual I see" Crowley hands him a file. "Be patient we're still waiting on Alpha team" After twenty minutes everyone was seated and read over their files as Crowley filled them in on the important parts."ISR readings show thirty enemies spread throughout the compound maybe more by the time you get there but the biggest groups seem to be in the main building and in the shed next to it. The compound will be heavily guarded after your showdown with the Colonel so keep your heads on a swivel"

"You'll be goin' in here. ." Bobby points to the map on the wall. "Looks to be a few miles North of Kandahar, closer to the mountains. There's two guard towers in front of the main building with snipers lookin' in every direction"

"So it looks like we'll be needing your expertise Gabe" Sam smiles at the sniper.

"Naturally" Gabriel gives a cocky smile and leans back in his chair as he folds his hands behind his head.

"Alright alright enough peacockin'. Local military are lettin' us go in alone but you still need to watch your backs" 

"When do we go?" Dean tosses his file on the table.

"19:00 hours"

Dean stands and heads for the door. "Alright that gives us thirty minutes to gear up, let's go"

Sam's about to follow when Bobby stops him "Hold up Sam" He was standing at the end of the table, his arms crossed over his chest. He waits for everyone to leave before walking over to Sam. "What's up with your brother, he seemed off"

"It's his and Cas' Anniversary today" Lucifer whimpers and puts his head down.

"Shit, I didn't even realize that was today" The two are quiet for a moment. "I know it's Benny's job but keep your eye on him, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid"

"I will" Sam turns to leave but bumps into Charlie. "Sorry Charlie, I didn't see you there"

"It's alright. I have something for you actually" She picks up a thin helmet and hands it to Sam. "It's for Luke, I've made it so you can give him commands while he's in the field without you"

"Thank you Charlie. It's awesome, how does it work?"

"His coms system is attached to his vest but the ear piece is a modified version that's attached to his helmet and it sits directly in front of his ear"

"What about the feedback interference?"

"I got it to work, his com runs on a frequency that only dogs can hear and it won't interfere with other radio frequencies"

"Charlie you really are the best"

"I know" They smile and laugh slightly "Now go catch up with the rest of your team"

Sam leaves with Lucifer following beside his master happily.

 

                                                  **• • • •**

Riding in the chopper used to be Dean's favorite part, him and Cas would talk about strategy going in and what they could do to be better next time on the way back. Now there's just silence, no one felt like talking or joking like they would before. Losing Cas was hard on everyone and still is, so they understand that it's much worse for Dean.

When both Bravo and Alpha teams get off their choppers they regroup as the choppers leave. Gabriel pulls out a map and a flashlight with a red bulb, it's not as easy to spot as a regular one and you can see all the same. He turns it on and Dean points to their location. "Alright we landed here, south of the entrance" He points to the small hill that separated them and the compound. "We gotta get over that hill so we can scout the compound before sending the demon in" Lucifer snaps his mouth in a quiet bark and wags his tail. "Any questions?"

Benny raises his hand then drops it "Yeah uh . . What happens if ol' red ain't here?" 

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Alright lets go" Dean leads the team up the hill, once at the top Roman and Gabriel scout out the compound. "Alright we got three in each guard tower and at least ten in the courtyard plus two blocking the front gate" 

"Sam" Dean nods to Lucifer. 

"Yeah" He takes Lucifer's leash off. . "Erkunden". .and tells him to scout the compound. Sam's K-9 partner bounds down the hill and toward the main entrance. Dean grabs a tablet out of Sam's backpack, he turns it on and Lucifer's camera footage comes on the screen. "Shit there's three at the main gate now" -"Luke go around"-

Lucifer hears Sam and changes direction, heading East he comes across a road and stops.

Dean looks at the tablet. "Didn't see that before"

"Trees probably covered it from sky surveillance" Benny chimes in.

The camera catches a flash of light and Lucifer looks, the team sees a vehicle approaching. -"Luke crouch"- He listens to his master and lays down in the tall grass and shrubs, hiding himself completely till the transport truck was gone.

"You don't suppose Abby's in there do ya?" Dean looks at Benny and shakes his head. "It can't be, I don't have the patients to keep looking for this ass-hat . . . Sam he's clear"

"Alright" -"Luke Erkunden"- Lucifer gets up and completes his order to scout the perimeter then returns to Sam and the others "Good boy. . So it looks like that road to the East is our best bet of getting in undetected"

"I agree" -"Toc this is Bravo Two, we've past SIG. There's a hidden entrance to the East, we're going in there"-

-"Copy Bravo Two. New reports show that there's no longer a heat signature in the shed but the brass still wants you to check it out as planned"-

-"Copy Toc"- "Okay Bravo Four you and Alpha Three take out the guards in the towers when we move to the East entrance"

"Copy Two" They set their sights on the guard towers and wait for their queue.

"Alpha team you're with us the whole way to help clear out the main building. Callahan pick someone to go with the kid to check out that old shed" 

T.C. Callahan is the leader of Alpha Team, he was about the same height as Dean, had black hair with razor stubble and chiseled features. He looks at each of his men before picking Alpha Four to go with Kevin. "Grimes you go with the kid"

"Yes Sir!" Rick Grimes is Alpha Four, about 5 foot 9, has brown hair with a beard that's started turning gray around his cheeks and a heavy southern accent.

"Alright let's go" Bravo and Alpha start moving down the hill. -"Execute"-

-"Engaging targets"- They started on the right tower and moved left, one by one the two snipers take turns downing the enemy snipers in perfect precision. 

"Nice shootin Gabe" Roman looks over and smiles. Roman Briggs is Alpha Three, his hair was blond with a neatly trimmed beard to match and has a vertical scar on his right temple.

"Thanks" Gabriel smiles too but it disappears when he looks back. Just as the teams were approaching the East entrance the guards at the main gate take notice.

"Shit" -"Uh Two, guards at the front are lookin' your way"-

-"Copy. . Once they move away from the entrance take them down"-

-"You got it boss"-

-"Bravo Four do you copy?"-

-"I copy Two"-

"What was that about?" Roman locks on to one target as Gabriel does the same. 

"He's a real stickler for protocol nowadays" They each take out their targets and wait for the last one to catch up. "Lets see who's a faster shot" Roman nods. "Now" In perfect unison they clear their rifles sight the target and pull the trigger.

"You've gotten better since the last time we worked together" Roman does a secondary scan of the compound to ensure no one would sneak up on the team.

"Is that a compliment from Roman Briggs? The same sniper that's held the record for fastest shot five years in a row?"

"Well I guess I'll just have to get better then" He smirks. -"Bravo Two, you are clear to proceed"-

-"Copy Alpha three, good lookin out"- "Alright kid, Grimes you two go check them for radios then get your asses to that shed. Clear it and regroup. If you find something report it"

"Yes Sir" Alpha Four and Bravo Six head over to the three guards and find a radio, someone was speaking.

                                                            -'راپور ! . . څه روان دي ?'-

"He said . . report. What's going on?"

"Tell him everything's fine" Rick picks up the radio and hands it to Kevin.

"Wait" Kevin grabs the radio and gets a flashlight off the ground. "They use a signal" He turns the light on and aims it at the main building. 

"You know this how?"

"When Luke was coming back around the compound his com picked up what they said, when asked to report the man flashed his light twice and everything was alright" He flashes the light and waits.

"What are you two yahoos up too?" It was Gabriel and Roman, they were cleared to move to their next position.

"Tricking them into thinking we're the guards"

                                                                       -' تاسو ځه کوی?'-

"He thinks it's them, asked what we're doing"

"Say uh . . ." Rick thinks for a moment.

"Say they all quit" Gabriel chimes in.

"You're not helping" Rick spots some keys and grabs them. "Say you lost your keys"

                                                        -'ما خپل چابونه له لاسه ورکړې'- 

                                                                         -'دوی ومومئ!'-

"Alright let's go" Kevin turns and clips the small handheld radio to his belt before he started hustling back to the road.

"Wait what'd he say?" Gabriel calls after them.

"He said find them" Kevin slows down so Rick could catch up. They get back to the road and enter the compound, they walk up to the shed and try opening the doors. "It's locked"

"Try these" Rick hands over the keys he found on the enemy soldier. 

"Are you kidding me? There's gotta be twenty keys on this thing"

"Then get to testin'"

Kevin looks at all the keys and chuckles. "Wait some of them wouldn't even work" He moves five keys to the other side of the ring. "These aren't even the right kind of keys" Then moves three more. "These are too big" . . "Too small" He moves two more.

"Alright come on goldilocks, find the right porridge" Rick smiles, clearly proud of his remark.

"Haha very funny" Kevin smirks as he tests the remaining keys, five of them only fit in half way and the last four didn't turn. "Come on last one" He tries the last key and it's a match, but when he opens the door he wished it had stayed closed.

"Bravo Two this is Alpha Four . . You need to see this"

 

                                            **• • • •**

-"Copy Alpha three, good lookin out"- "Alright kid, Grimes you two go check them for radios then get your asses to that shed. Clear it and regroup. If you find something report it" When Rick and Kevin walk away Dean and the rest of the team continue on their path to the entrance, once there he radios in again. -"Toc this is Bravo Two, we've past MAS G3. I repeat past MAS G3"-

-"Copy Two"-

-"Alpha Three Bravo Four, you are Charlie Mike"-

-"Copy Two, moving now"- Roman and Gabriel stand and shoulder their rifles before they move down the hill they used for overwatch and over to the guard tower on the right where they run into Kevin and Rick. "What are you two yahoos up too?"

"Tricking them into thinking we're the guards"

Rick and Kevin come up with a cover story and Gabriel was too busy trying to help them he missed Roman zip-cuffing the enemies hands behind their backs and their ankles so they couldn't run if the tranqs wore off before the mission was over. When Rick and the kid start leaving Gabriel calls after them. "Wait what'd he say?"

"He said find them" Kevin answered before disappearing behind a tree as they turn the corner around the tower.

Gabriel looks down at the enemy's on the floor then up at the other sniper. "I don't think he's gonna find them"

Roman rolls his eyes and smiles. "Come on get to the other guard tower" It doesn't take long for both of them to climb three flights of stairs and once at the top they each zip-cuff the enemy snipers and report in.

-"Toc this is Alpha Three, I've passed M24"-

-"Toc this is Bravo Four, I have also passed M24"-

-"Copy Alpha Three, Bravo Four"-

-"Bravo Two got eyes in the sky, you are clear to move"- Roman spots three enemies over on the East side. -"Got three right in front of you"-

Gabriel sees another about to join them -"Make that four"- The ground team takes down the four enemies in the sidelot while their snipers scan the rest of the courtyard. -"Bravo Two, courtyard looks to be clear"-

-"Copy Four"- The team make their way up the side lot and enter the courtyard, after checking their corners they proceed to the main building. -"Toc this is Bravo Two, we've passed Colt"-

                                                **\- - - -**

-"Copy Bravo Two, what about your previous objective"- Back on base if your rank was high enough you were in Ops, watching Bravo and Alpha's mission play out. Bobby was usually the one talking to them and Crowley handled any on the spot changes that could catch the team off guard. Charlie on the other hand had to keep tabs on the team and their mission checkpoints, check with IRS and keep the few privileged reporters allowed in from snooping. In place of the giant map was a projector screen, on it was the helmet cam footage from everyone on the teams and there were three monitors set throughout the building displaying the ISR drone overwatch footage.

Dean's voice comes over the speaker again. -"Bravo Six and Alpha Four are handling there end of it as we speak, their at the shed now"-

-"Copy Two, I see them on overwatch"-

Charlie walks over to a whiteboard and checks off Colt, the board had a list of code names for certain parts of the mission, it's so anyone on the teams could quickly report in and not divulge crucial information that the enemy might hear.

**___________________________________________________________**

| Jackpot | Colonel Aaban Addon captured                                 

| ~~Colt~~ | Bravo and Alpha in position to take main building      

| Beretta | Shed & Courtyard cleared                                              

| ~~M24~~ | B4  & A3 repositioned to guard towers                              

| ~~MAS G3~~ | Bravo  & Alpha in position to take compound              

| ~~SIG~~ | Compound scouted, point of entry TBD                            

                                                    **\- - - -**

"Matheson, Brock with Alpha One, Benny you too. Need you guys to cover the downstairs, me and Sam got upstairs"

Miles Matheson is Alpha Two, tall, dark hair and a deep gravelly voice. He's a specialist in a few divisions, sharp shooting, weapons specialist and speaks five languages other than english. Eddie Brock is Alpha Five, dark hair, razor stubble and a very particular sense of humor. He's part of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit or E.O.D. for short. He claims to hear a voice, said that it first spoke to him when he was about to cut the wrong wire on a bomb. If he had followed protocol and cut the wire that should have disarmed the bomb, his whole unit would have been taken out by the blast. Everyone said it was just luck but Eddie knows.

"Why split the team up?" Miles askes before Dean could continue.

"Bottom floors bigger than the top floor, four people can clear it faster than three. Upstairs only takes two plus the dog, so in and out like a flash. I want this bastard caught and I don't want him running. . . Now move"

Miles and Eddie pull open the doors to the main building a little and Dean peeks in to get the lay out. There was only one door that led to the bottom room and two staircases that led to the top floor with doors at the top of each. There was a window in the top room that overlooks the front door."Okay entryways clear, there's a staircase on each side and one door on the bottom floor. . . Sam send him up"

Sam sends Lucifer in. "Luke, oben" Luke bolts inside and up the left flight of stairs, the team follows and splits up. Sam follows his partner up the left side and Dean takes the right as the others move to the door on the ground floor. They enter and are immediately shot at by the enemy, Benny returns fire and hits his target as Miles and Eddie follow T.C. into the room. There were five more inside and when they go for their guns T.C. shoots at a wall to stop them, they back off and surrender. 

"Alright get them cuffed" Benny cuffs the guy who shot at them as the others get the ones that surrendered.

Sam and Dean get to the top of the stairs and enter the room at the same time. There were three people already in the room, two had guns on them. "Put your weapons down now" The two men with guns ignore the warning and pick up their weapons as the third reaches under the table for a hidden gun. 

Dean shoots first then Sam. "Luke záchvat" Lucifer runs over and lunges at the third man, tackling him to the floor. They quickly zip-cuff the two they shot first then Sam pulls Lucifer off the enemy he tackled. Dean grabs him and cuffs him then looks at the mans face. -"Toc this is Bravo Two, we have Jackpot"-

-"Copy Bravo Two, get him back here along with all other combatants, evac. is on it's way"-

-"Copy that Toc"-

-"Bravo Two this is Alpha Four. . You need to see this"-

-"Copy Four, I'll be there in two"- "Sam you get those two downstairs I got the Colonel" Once all the prisoners were grouped downstairs Dean heads over to the shed with Sam and Benny. Rick was leaning against the wall next to the door while Kevin was on the side losing his lunch. "What's up with him?"

"You need to see for yourself" Rick tilts his head toward the shed but keeps his head down. 

"Alright" Dean takes a second before walking into the shed. What he sees was enough to make the toughest of guys lose their composure. There were three rows of cages that lined the back wall. The floor and walls were covered with blood and there were five bodies. "Jesus, these guys don't hold back do they?" 

Just as Dean turned to leave one of the prisoners that had been shot regained consciousness. "He-help. .me. Please" He was choking on his own blood and when Dean came over to try and help he freezes. The man laying in his arms had black hair with blueish eyes and it reminded him of Cas. "P-please. . Help. .me" His last words were sluggish and gurgled.

"No! Cas! No Cas no! NO! Cas baby don't leave me. Don't leave me please!" Tears start trailing down his cheeks as the man died in his arms.

"Dean?" Sam places a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Dean it's not him. Cas is gone, it's not him. Come on let's go" His brother was to lost to stand on his own so Sam and Benny help him up and take him from the shed. The chopper ride home was even more quiet then usual and once they got back to base it's like Dean made an effort to avoid everyone. He needed time to himself, he needed to clear his mind of everything Cas, but that was a hard thing to do on their Anniversary which just so happens to be the Anniversary of Cas' death as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suche (Zoo-kHa) {Search} -German-
> 
> ISR {Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance}
> 
> Erkunden (Air-koon-en) {Scout} -German-
> 
> Oben (Ohben) {Up} -German-
> 
> Záchvat (Zahh-vat) {Attack} -Czech-


	4. P.O.W.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That last mission took it's tole on everyone but Dean was the worst out of the others

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the false Chapter update guys, I didn't expect part of the Chapter to get scrambled after posting. All fixed now :)
> 
> Okay apparently the website formats the text to your individual phone screens. Some of you may be able to see the maps and others may see scrambled eggs.
> 
> I fixed it!! XD

Benny said something first before anyone. Dean would say he was fine and that it was just a bad dream, he'd be okay.

Gabriel tried the comical approach. It ended with Dean snapping and throwing a water bottle that just missed his head, before marching back to his bunk. Even Gabriel didn't blame him, he made the mistake of bringing Cas up.

It was Sam who finally got Dean to talk. "What was that out there and the other day?"

"What was what?" Dean sat on his bunk cleaning his weapons, he always does this when he's stressed and needed a way to distract himself.

"He reminded you of Cas didn't he?" Sam sits on the other end of Dean's bunk but keeps his eyes down.

"No it didn't"

"Dean you said his name"

"Sam drop it"

"Then you snapped at Gabriel"

"Sam!"

"Dean. . It's okay. The same thing happened to me when Jess died"

"This was different. . It was my fault"

"You don't think I blamed myself too? I should have been there with her but I wasn't because at the time shcool was too important. At first I thought that if I were there I could have stopped her but the truth is she would have just done it another time. Dean thinking about all the things you could have done won't help, it's just gonna pull you down till you can't see the light anymore"

Dean stops cleaning his pistol and looks down to hold back tears. "I see him Sammy. ." Sam looks up at his brother. "I see him at night. I see him in the morning . . on missions . . in every target I shoot . . . I can't anymore Sam . . . I don't want to remember him like that anymore"

"You wanna forget?"

"No . . God no. Cas was the best thing that ever happened to me. Without him I would've ended up in jail or the gutter or worse. I never wanna forget him. I just don't want it to hurt so damn much when I remember him"

"You'll get there. It just takes time. . . You should get some rest"

"I'm fine Sam"

"Dean you haven't slept all night, you can barely keep your eyes open"

"Alright alright. I'll take a quick nap, quit acting like Mom would ya"

"Nope, promised her I'd take care of you if you hit a rough spot" Sam smiles slightly after

Dean looks over at his brother then back down and smiles. "Yeah, she made me promise the same thing for you too"

"Alright I'll get out of your hair, let you sleep"

"Thanks Sammy"

 

**• • • •**

_"Come on! You're gonna have to jump" Dean watches as Cas gets closer, he's at the edge of the roof, he jumps. Dean holds on and stretches his arm out. Cas reaches out and grabs his hand, his foot lands on the chopper but slips._

_. . . A gun shot rings out . . ._

_It was quick yet at the same time it was like time slowed down after that gun shot. Cas' eyes stay on Dean as he plummets into the river below then he's gone._

_"CCAAAAAAAAASSS! NOOOOOO! CAAAAS!"_

**` ` ` `**

"CAAAS! . . . .Shit"

There it is, back to the regularly scheduled programming that now haunts Dean's nightmares. Lately he's been getting a break from dreams like this but he knew that it wouldn't last.

 

**° ° ° °**

"Dean" Garth sits in his chair, his hands folded over his knee and he was without a notepad today.

"If you ask me how I'm feeling doc, I swear" Dean kept his eyes on the floor, just like everytime before.

"You haven't been to see me in a while"

"Yeah so" Dean shrugs and sits back in his chair.

"Why is that?

"Didn't feel like coming"

"How are you feeling today"

He sighs angrily and looks up at Garth. "I'm Fine!"

"Are you sure?" Garth reaches for something out of view to Dean, he pulls his hand back up with a sock puppet and when he speaks again his voice is higher.

"Cause Mr. Fizzles can sense when you're being a Liiiiiaaaarrrrrrr"

Dean doesn't say anything at first but when he does he is visibly pissed. "Is this a joke?"

"No Dean, I'm trying a different approach, it's worked for me before. . Right Mr. Fizzles?. . . . Right Dr."

"And what I'm supposed to do, talk to the puppet like you? Great my therapist is crazy" Dean shakes his head and huffs.

"Come on Dean, try" . . . "Mr. Fizzles just wants to help" There's that voice again.

"What am I supposed to say huh? That I'm scared?. . . scared to go on missions because I'm afraid of losing anyone else? How I see death everyday and sometimes it's someone who shouldn't have died? You want me to talk about how I hate going to bed because all I see is the man that I love die over and over again!? . . I got him killed! . . I knew that there would be enemies on that cliff but I didn't say anything. I didn't double check to make sure we were clear . . I touched him . . I had him . . He didn't deserve to die! . . You bring out a fucking puppet and expect me to talk!? About what!? No amount of talking can change what happened . . talking isn't going to fix me . . talking won't bring him back! Nothing can bring Cas back!! And it's my fault he's dead!!" Dean takes a shaky breath and they just look at each other for a few minutes before Dean starts chuckling then it slowly turns into deep sated laughter.

"Dean? . . Dean are you okay?"

Out of all his past therapists, all the methods that they used and its the puppet that gets him to finally crack?

"The fucking puppet?" His laughs turns into silent tears and he shakes his head. "A fucking puppet" 

"Dean I think I know what's bothering you"

"And what's that doc?" He wipes his tears and looks back down at the floor.

"It sounds like you have a typical case of PTSD"

"PTSD?"

"It stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder"

"Great. So let me guess, I have to quit the teams don't I?" Dean rolls his eyes and sighs.

"Not necessarily, if it doesn't interfere with your missions then you can stay on active duty"

"Awesome, can I go now?"

"However I am suggesting that you schedule more sessions with me in the future, but in order for me to help you get through this I'm gonna need you to actually talk to me Dean. Like you did just now. . And I know that I will never understand how you feel or know exactly what happened but I'm just trying to help. So tell me, what do I need to do to help?"

"Ain't that your job doc?"

"It is, but in my experience you get a better outcome when asking a patient what they need rather than giving textbook gibberish"

"You actually want to help?" Dean was confused, his last therapist thought that he needed a break from work for a bit so Dean changed his story and started saying he was fine again.

"It's my job to help Dean, but I can't help if you don't try"

Dean sighs and slouches in his chair. "Do you feel any better?"

"Actually. ." He takes a deep breath before looking back up at his therapist. "Yeah I do"

___________________________________________________________

**Inv#085-42                                                                  1/21/2019**

**Patient** **Assessment**

 

**Name: Winchester, Dean**

**1st Session:** 1/6/19                                **Last Session:** 1/13/19

 

**Was the patient cooperative? Yes■ No□**

More so then both previous sessions combined.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

**What progress has been made?**

Opened up about what has been bothering him, even admitted to feeling better afterwards.                                                                                                                                                                                   

**Future sessions needed? Yes■ No□**

**What treatment do you recommend?**

Needs to continue talk therapy for as long as it takes to overcome any issues with work overlapping with home life                                                                                                                            

 

                    **Signature** Dr. Garth Fitzgerald IV

___________________________________________________________

                                                **• • • •**

_Dean was asleep. . That is before he felt Cas crawl into his lap and sink down onto him. "Oh! Shit!" Cas moves his hips and grindes down onto his husband, it's slow at first but after a few minutes he's slamming his hips down. Dean could barely breathe and with one last roll of Cas' hips he had them both coming and cursing._

_Once Cas caught his breath he leans down and kisses Dean's cheek."Happy birthday handsome"_

_"Mmm. . .that was a great birthday gift babe" He was still panting and his eyes were barely open but Dean had a smile on his face._

_"You're going to have to jump" Cas looks down at Dean and slowly starts fading._

_"What?" Dean opens his eyes but couldn't see anything, he blinks a few times and he's back in the chopper watching as Cas jumps from the roof and flies toward him. "Cas!" Dean reaches out and grabs Cas' arm with both hands, he pulls him into the chopper and holds him close. "I got you baby. . Cas I got you"_

_. . . A gun shot rings out . . ._

_"CCAAASSS! NO CAAAS!" Dean held Cas in his arms, his bright blue eyes were open but his body was limp and his breathing had stopped the instant the bullet pierced his brain. The blood however didn't stop, it spread till it covered Dean's face, hands and chest. . Soon it covered his entire body, it got in his mouth, in his eyes even up his nose. He couldn't breathe. . He was drowning in it._

              **` ` ` `**

"Cas!". . . ."Cas!" He woke with a scream and tried to push away the person who shook him awake.

"Dean it's okay. . . . it's okay" He calms down enough to see that the person touching him was Benny. "You're alright brother, just breathe" Dean was starting to hyperventilate and Benny could tell, he helps Dean sit up against the wall and hang his feet off the bed. "Slow deep breaths. . . Was it real bad?"

Dean's breathing slows and he nods. "Yeah" He looks at his phone and sees a message from Bobby to the whole team.

>New mission ready and approved< 

"Look's like we got work to do, let's go"

"You sure you don't want to sit this one out? I'm sure it's just a prisoner rescue mission by what we got from the guards"

"No, I can't take the chance of something else going wrong because I wasn't there" Dean stands and starts changing into his work clothes, Benny does the same.

"I get it . . you wanna protect the team, but are you sure you're alright?"

Dean gets another text, this one was just to him.

>Colonel cracked, gave us 

everything. Get here ASAP<

"Yeah I'm sure"

Just as they were going to leave Benny grabs something and holds it by his side. "Hey what time is it?"

Dean checks his phone again. "One thirty in the morning"

"Well then Happy birthday brother" Benny hands Dean a small gift wrapped in a rag and smiles.

He takes his gift and smiles back. "Benny you didn't have to get me anything"

"Just open it"

Dean does just that and unfolds the rag to find five different sized gears. "Holy shit, I've been looking for these for months" Some gears in baby's engine block started to breakdown from being used for so many years and Dean couldn't find them anywhere.

"I know, a buddy of mine does custom work and said he'd get me a discount"

"This is awesome thanks man" He gives Benny a one armed hug then sets the gears down on his bed and they head out.

 

                                              **☆ ☆ ☆ ☆**

"Alright sit your asses down and listen up" Bobby handed out folders as everyone came in and sat down. "We know from the guards that the Colonel moved a few of his prisoners to an unknown location. We have reason to believe that these prisoners are American, don't have much time before you have to leave. Crowley should be here any second to fill you in on the intel"

"You said the Colonel gave up information?" Dean flips through his folder and looks at a map.

"That's right squirrel the Colonel squealed and gave us everything" Crowley had just walked in when Dean spoke. "He gave us the location of the prisoners"

"How do we know we can trust him?" Sam looks up from his file and sets it down. 

"We tracked the convoy that left Kandahar to the same spot as the coordinates he gave us, the mountans of Mazari Sharif. What we might not be able to trust is the layout he gave us"

"You can't just look at it from a satellite?" Dean doesn't even look up as he talks.

"We tried, there's something blocking our view. We tried waiting to see if it would go away but to no avail the smokescreen stayed" 

"Great so we have to just trust that slimy son of a bitch"

"My boss thinks it's worth the risk"

"Of course he does, he gets to sit behind a desk and read a report on what happened but we're the ones who actually get our hands dirty and get the job done and if I think it's too dangerous then that should count for something shouldn't it?" Dean was looking directly at Crowley and burning holes through his non-existent soul.

"I know it should Dean, but they don't care about the actual risks they just think about how it would look to the media if it got out that we knew about American citizens being held prisoner and did nothing"

Dean sighs and sits back. "Well when you put it that way, what are we lookin at?"

"The Colonel ever so kindly drew us a map" Crowley points to the wall where a slightly bigger version of the map was hanging.

"Alright there's two guard towers and the main building, Colonel said he's guessing on the number of guards but, five guards in the courtyard, two snipers in each of the towers and two on main. On top of that there's three guards in each tower and seven or more in main, that's also where the prisoners are being held. Said that there's nothing but trees and thick brush surrounding the compound with one road in or out. You'll be parachuting in so dropping in from the West is your best option. Any questions, comments, concerns? . . No? . Okay then we can move on fun part, Charlie"

"Alright what do we want the theam to be today?" Charlie walks over to a whiteboard and grabs a black marker.

 **'Planets, Eddie pick planets, pick planets please, please Eddie pick planets'** "What about planets?" Eddie tries to appease the voice in his head.

"Alright planets it is, just whoever thinks of one first"

 **'Space, that's where I come from'** "What aboutp space for the drop in" . . **'Then Terra, you fools call it Earth but that's where you come from Eddie' . .** He hides his laugh with a cough and whispers so no one heard him. "I know buddy"

"Landing will be next so Terra" Dean speaks first and Charlie writes it down.

**'Ooo I like him. . . Now . .Mm'**

"We're gona have to take out the snipers next" . . Benny thinks for a second . . "Mars" 

**'No, no, no we like Mercury better'**

"How about . . Mercury, for when we clear the courtyard" Miles smiles as Charlie writes it down after Mars.

**'Yes, yes. Now Saturn, we like it's rings'**

"Oh what about Saturn"

"Oh how about Saturn" Roman and Gabriel speak at the same time and laugh.

Sam raises his hand. "Can it be a moon?"

**'Moon? Moons okay'**

"Yes Sam it can be a moon"

"Callisto" Sam smiles and pets Lucifer.

"Alright last one boys"

Kevin raises his hand.  "Go ahead Kev" Dean looks over at Kevin and nods.

"Mimas. . It's a moon too"

"That's perfect we got everything we need" Charlie finishes up with the white board and lets the boys remember the code words as Dean writes them down.

___________________________________________________________

**| Jackpot |** Compound cleared & Prisoners secured                

**| Mimas |** B6  & A4 have located prisoners                                 

**| Callisto |** B2,3,5  & A1,2,5 move to main building                     

**| Saturn |** B4  & A3 cleared guard towers and repositioned for overwatch                                                                                         

**| Mercury |** Guards in courtyard down                                       

**| Mars |** Snipers down                                                                   

**| Terra |** Bravo  & Alpha have landed outside compound        

**| Space |** Halo jump                                                                      

"Alright lets go, I want to be in the air in ten" Dean gets up and leaves before anyone else.

 

**• • • •**

The whole flight to Mazari Sharif was quiet until the teams got the fifteen minute warning till drop. "Alright I want final checks on everyone's gear before we drop in" Everyone had their gear and chutes checked one last time before preparing for what should be an easy prisoner rescue. The light by the hatch turns from red to yellow. "Five minutes to drop" The hatch started opening and was announced by a loud alarm beforehand, along with Lucifer's enthusiastic barking and whining. 

"It's okay Luke we'll get to jump in a few minutes" Lucifer wags his tail and lays by Sam's feet as his muzzle and goggles were put on, they were connected and fit snugly against his face, it protected him from anything getting in his eyes and from his mouth getting hurt during the drop in.

The light turns green and white lights flash with a low alarm. -"Let's go, let's go, let's go. . . Toc moving to jump"- Dean and T.C. jump out first followed by Benny and Miles then Roman and Gabriel. Rick jumps with Kevin while Eddie waits for Sam to attach Lucifer's leash to his vest, Sam stands up and walks to the edge of the hatch before crouching down and clipping on the part of Luke's harness that allows him to comfortably hang from Sam's hip for when they parachute into places. Sam jumps.

' **We love this part. . Jump Eddie. Jump! Jump! Jump!'** . . "Okay okay calm down" Eddie jumps.

The sky was a dark gray and the clouds held just enough water to mist whatever passed through it. They all wait to fall to 700 feet to open their chutes. -"All stations be advised, ISR footage is down due to interference. Call out when your chute opens, how copy"-

-"Good copy Toc Bravo Two, open" . . -"Alpha One, open"- . . . . . . . . . .

-"Bravo Three, open" . . -"Alpha Two, open"- . . . . . . . . . . .

-"Alpha Three, open" . . -"Bravo Four, open"- . . . . . . . . . . . .

-"Alpha Four, open" . . . . . -"Bravo Six, open"- . . . . . . . . . . . .

-"Bravo Five, open" . . **'Can we fall a little longer, please Eddie?'**. . "No, are you crazy? 700 feet is cutting it close sometimes as it is" . . -"Alpha Five, open"-

-"We read you boys, see you on the ground. Toc out-"

Dean and T.C. get about 300 feet from landing and spot movement and lights on the ground. -"T.C. is it just me or does it look like we're about to drop into enemy territory?"-

-"I can confirm movement on the ground, moving south would get us away from them the fastest"- T.C. slowly pulls the right cord on his chute and Dean does the same, the current wind sending them southwest.

-"It's not gonna be enough, we're gonna hit the building"- It's like as if someone heard Dean and kicked up the wind, enough to push them past enemy territory and into the surrounding trees. As soon as they land Dean radios the rest of the team.

-"Alpha, Bravo listen up. Divert your DZ twenty mikes Southwest. Current is a trap. I repeat, it's a trap, divert twenty mikes Southwest"-

By the time everyone reaches the ground they only have an hour before the sun comes up. -"Toc this is Bravo Two, we've passed Terra. Landed twenty Mikes Southwest of intended DZ, it was a trap"- 

-"Bravo Two can you Charlie Mike as planned?"-

-"Hold your last, once we get eyes in the sky I can answer"- . . "Alright boys we need to get eyes on this compound and we need a way for them to see it too . . So who's good at texting and climbing?"

 **'We love climbing. Pick us! Pick us! Pick us!'** . . "We can do it"

"We?" Dean tilts his head slightly.

"I mean I . . I can do it, just me, by myself" Eddie finds the closest tree with a low branch and starts climbing. **'Nice'** . . "Shut it!"

"Who is he talking to?" Gabriel quirks his eyebrow and watches as Eddie climbs.

"The voice in his head" Miles answers. "It's not real of course"

 **'Eddiieeee he said I wasn't real'** . . "I heard him" . . **'Let's prove him wrong'** . . -"What if I could prove it?"-

-"Prove what Brock?"- 

-"That the voice is real"- . . **'Someone's about to shoot but not at us'** . . -"like for instance, someone's about to shoot but it's not at us"-

-"How could you possibly know. ."- One of the guards starts shooting. "Shit!" Everybody turns towards the compound and readies their rifles just as the shooting stops.

 **'Told you'** . . -"See"- Eddie almost gets to the top when he unknowingly steps on a dead branch. **'It's gonna break Eddie'** The warning came in time for Eddie to grab ahold of the trunk just as the branch snaps then falls to the ground, he would have fallen with it if it weren't for the heads up. "Thanks Vee" . . **'Love you Eddie'**

-"Alpha Five are you alright?"-

-"Copy Bravo Two I'm alright, the branch broke when I stepped on it"- Once he gets to the top he can see the compound perfectly. He starts typing out a map and Venom calls out where the enemy's are. **'Two more on the ledge and three more in the courtyard, oh Eddie don't forget the third sniper on the main building'** . . "What third sniper?" . . **'Center of the building, looks like a pile of leaves'** . . "I see him now. What about those trees up in front?" . . **'Yep, two'** When he's done he sends it to Bobby then carefully climbs back down the tree. "Alright. . I got a good look at everything and . . there's definitely more enemies then the Colonel 'remembered'" Eddie shows them the map.

 

-"Got your message Alpha Five, care to explain it just so everyone's on the same page?"-

-"Of course. Big dots are snipers small ones are guards. The main building looks to be three stories high and is actually located to the North with a large boxed 'U' shape for the guard tower to the South. They are separate buildings one to the east and one to the west, the southern part is just an arch connecting the two together. There is a ridge that is accessible on foot to the far East, has a building and some shipping containers along with one sniper and two guards at the time, there's six guards in the courtyard and three in front of the compound. Four snipers on the guard towers, two on each and three on the main building but the guy in the center must be wearing a ghillie suit, I almost missed him. There's also two snipers in the trees closest to the compound. As far as any enemy's inside, it's anyone's guess"- . . **'Mmm. . There's four in each of the guard buildings, four on the bottom of the main building, three on the second floor and five on the top floor. . and the prisoners are being held up on the ledge. There's three-no four'** . .-"I'd say to expect at least twenty more enemies maybe more"- . . . **'Eddie the prisoners'** . . "Oh right" . -"And uh . . the prisoners are being held up on the ridge"-

-"How do you know for sure?"- Crowley's voice comes over everyone's coms. 

"Uhm". . **'Quick say you saw one of them'** . . -"I saw the guards moving a prisoner"- . . **'Shipping container . . Eddie'** . . "It's fine"

-"Copy Alpha Five, Alpha, Bravo continue as planned"-

"Prisoners first. Kid you and-              -Rick. Go now"

                                                   "I'll go"

"Alright Gabe, Roman you two think you can climb up a tree to get a vantage point?" Dean walks over to the two snipers as Rick and Kevin leave.

"Of course we can" Gabriel answers first and goes to climb the tree Eddie did and Roman starts to climb the one next to it. When they get to the top they clip themselves to the tree to prevent them from falling out. -"Toc this is Four, passed Saturn 1"-

-"This is Alpha Three, passed Saturn 2"-

-"Good copy boys"-

Roman keeps an eye on the team as Gabriel scopes out the snipers in the trees. -"Bravo Two we have a clean shot at the snipers but the guards at the front might see them drop, should we get the others while you get in position to take the courtyard?"-

-"Copy Four, just make sure the ones in the trees don't see us"-

-"Yes Sir. You're clear to that cluster of three just in front of you"- 

-"I see them. . Moving now"-

Gabriel shoots the sniper up on the ridge as Roman watches the snipers in the trees. -"Switch"- 

-"Copy"- Now Roman takes out the hidden sniper on the main building while Gabriel watches the team and clears his rifle. -"Let's pair the last ones out"- Roman clears his rifle as Gabriel aims at the sniper on the left. -"Ready"- They take out the last two snipers on the main building then check on the team and enemy snipers. -"Bravo Two, you're clear to advance. Get right under that left snipers tree then take out the guards at the entrance"- 

-"Copy Three, moving"-

Gabriel and Roman take out the two snipers on the left side of the guard building, the snipers on the right see their comrades fall and alert the entire compound of enemy activity. 

-"We're in position and have eyes on target"-

**'Eddie they know'**

-"Copy Two, ready on your mark"-

**'The guards know'**

-"Execute"- A split second after Dean says it, Benny, Miles and T.C. take out the guards by the arch while Roman and Gabriel Take out the two snipers on the right side of the guard building. 

 **'Eddie!'** . . "What?" . . **'Tell Sam and Dean to move'** . . "Why?" . . **'Move them now!!'** Eddie grabs them both and pushes them to the floor.

"Brock what the hell are you . ." Bullets start splintering through the trees, landing where Bravo Two and Five just were.

"Sorry Sir, couldn't explain in time"

"No I get it, thanks" Dean starts crawling away from enemy fire and Sam helps him up, the team pushes further into the trees away from the compound as Bravo Four and Alpha Three take out the shooters on the ridge. -"Bravo Six, Alpha four are you okay"-

-"We're clear Bravo Two, moving up the ridge now"-

-"Copy Six"- . . -"Toc this is Two, the enemy has engaged, returning fire"-

-"Good copy Two, stay safe boys"-

Roman and Gabriel take out the snipers in the trees just as the guards from inside the building come out.

-"Toc this is Bravo Four, we've passed Mars"-

-"Copy Four"-

-"Two it looks like the enemies from the courtyard are advancing on your position as well as enemies from the guard buildings"-

-"Good copy Three, clear to engage"-

-"Roger that, we got the right"- Alpha Three takes out two guards and so does Bravo Four, the ground team takes out the group on the left just as soldiers from the courtyard take shelter under the arch. They open fire on Alpha and Bravo, after a few minutes the shooting stops and one enemy starts advancing toward the team.

-"Alpha Three, Bravo Four, as soon as the arch is clear I want you to group up with Bravo Six and Alpha Four. How copy"-

-"Good copy Two, Got one comin' at ya"-

-"I see him Four, get the two in the back. Wait for my mark"- . . "Sam you get the one up front, Benny you go left, T.C. go right. I got the one comin' for us" . . -"Execute"- On Dean's word they take out their targets and advance to the arch. "Alright I want a five by five down the middle, Half down the left and two thirds down the right" The team splits up, Sam and Eddie continue under the arch to the courtyard, T.C. and Miles enter the left side of the building, Dean and Benny enter the right. They clear their buildings and meet back up in the center of the courtyard. -"Toc this is Two, we've passed Mercury"-

-"Good copy Two"-

"Alright guys that fireshow ate up time, we only got half an hour before suns up, lets clear the main building and get out" . . -"Bravo Six how's the prisoner rescue going?"-

-"Two this is Six, we've reached the target building about to make entry"-

-"Copy Six"-

"Dean enemies to the North" Sam and Dean pull their rifles and down the two on the ends as Eddie gets the one in the center.

"Good call, let's go" They advance to the main building, Dean and T.C. breach the doors. 

"One at your 3" T.C. calls it out as Dean shoots the enemy about to fire at them.

 **'Eddie there's a bomb'** . . "There's a bomb?"

When Lucifer comes in with Sam he lunges at a table against the right wall, he barks and sits. "He's right there's a bomb"

Eddie walks over to it and tries looking under the table. "Don't touch the table, there's a mercury switch"

"What does that mean?"

 **'Goes boom if you touch'** . . "It's highly unstable, gonna take thirty minutes forty tops to disarm it"

"Great" . . -"Toc this is Bravo Two, we've passed Callisto. One problem, there's a bomb"-

              **_ _ _ _**

-"We read you Bravo two, can EOD deal with the problem?"-

-"For now, he said it's unstable. . . Possibly radioactive"-

-"Copy Two, what's your plan?"-

-"Bravo three will stay here and aid Alpha Five. Alpha One and Two will clear the second floor while me and Bravo Five clear the top"-

-"Good copy Two"- Bobby places the radio down on the hook before walking over to Crowley and getting in his face. "How the hell didn't the CIA catch this?"

"You know we can't predict what's going to happen once there on target"

"Yeah well you can vet it good enough to keep my men from walking into an ambush". . Bobby walks away shaking his head. "Suns comin' up. Bradbury spin up the QRF, get them outta there now"

          **_ _ _ _**

Alpha One and Two stay and clear the second floor, downing three enemies as Bravo Two and Five climb the stars to the top floor. There were five enemies, Sam and Dean shoot the two with guns and demand the unarmed combatants surrender. "On the floor now! On the floor!" The enemies reluctantly surrender and are zip-cuffed before taken downstairs where their pictures are taken and sent back to base. -"Toc this Bravo Two, we've captured Jackpot. Need to ID captured combatants,  pictures already sent"-

-"Copy Two"-

-"Toc this is Six, we've passed Mimas. Four prisoners recovered alive"-

-"Copy Six, get them out of there, QRF ten mikes out" 

-"Copy Toc"- Rick looks through the papers on the desk as Kevin unlocks the cages and lets the prisoners out.

"Found somethin'" Gabriel picks up a notebook and opens it. 

"When the hell did you two get here?" Rick looks up from the desk at Roman and Gabriel.

"Few minutes ago. Hey kid help me read this" Keven walks over and begins reading pages. "Come on now out loud" Gabriel sits on the desk.

                                           **Prisoners log** 'Sacar Najar'

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

**April 1st 2018-** New prisoner brought in. Thought to have ties to American war effort

**April 23rd 2018-** Prisoner refuses to corporate, authorizing more extensive measures to ensure talking

**May 17th 2018-** Continues with previous story of having nothing to do with American war effort

**June 18th 2018-** General ordered a specialist to come in

**July 30th 2018-** Specialist started making progress

**August 14th 2018-** Prisoner started to confuse story

**September 26th 2018-** Specialist called out due to no further progress

**October 30th 2018-** General has been taking over torture of prisoner

**November 8th 2018-** Prisoner endured brutal session with General

**December 11th 2018-** Prisoner has ceased all communication. It's been weeks since I've last heard him speak

**January 6th 2019-** Prisoner is barely concious. Torture gone too far?

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

"Brock how we doin?" Dean checks his watch.

"Ten minutes"

"Make it five, first chopper's here" Dean grabs one of the captured enemies, Sam and Miles grab the other two. There was a space big enough between the main building and the mountain for the chopper to touch down. Once the enemies were on board Crowley's voice comes over everyone's coms.

-"All stations be advised, captured prisoners are as followed Major Alas Ųtair & Major Asmon Daos, they own multiple poppy fields that Echo burned and are linked to attacks on some former military bases. Last and certainly least, General Aztash Azel. Complicit in several attacks on U.S. soil, responsible for countless bombings on Afghan citizens and dealings with sex trafficking rings around the world. Make sure they don't-". . .

"Toc repeat your last. . .I repeat, say again your last. . . . Damn it something happened to our coms. Alright you heard him, Alpha One, Two you're in charge of them. Benny I need you on this chopper too, make sure they behave"

"Yes Sir" He and the others board the chopper and strap in just as it takes off. Dean and Sam get back to Eddie and the bomb.

"How we lookin?"

"I was trying to radio you but I think they attached an EMP to the bomb, it went off as soon as I disabled it" . . **'Eddie more enemies to the right. And alot of them'** . . "Enemies to the West!"

"What?" Dean looks down the road but sees nothing "You sure?"

 **'Run Eddie'** . . "I thought we've been over this already" He starts running through the courtyard, back towards their DZ.

"Right" Dean and Sam just about catch up to Eddie when they hear a transport truck coming down the road and pulling in front of the main building. There were two soldiers in the front with one hanging off each door, six in the back, three hanging off each side, four foot soldiers on each side of the truck and six following behind. There were thirty soldiers in total, all armed to the teeth and open fire as soon as their feet hit the ground. "Cover!" Sam and Eddie spin and return fire, allowing Dean to pass them. "Bravo move" Now it's Dean's turn to cover his brother as he retreats into the trees. "Alpha move" Eddie joins the other two and turns to cover Dean again. "No you two need to get up to that ridge, make sure the civilians and our boys get on the choppers. I'll cover"

"Dean"

"Go Sam. Please I can't lose anybody else"

Sam sighs and looks down. "Alright, but one condition"

"What?"

"Luke, Schützen"

"What is that?" Dean looks at Lucifer, who was waging his tail as he growls at the enemy soldiers.

"Uh . . Stay" He lies, Sam and Eddie head for the rest of the team. Everyone hated when the team had to be split up, except for riding in the choppers that is, but splitting up in the middle of exfil with no coms and during a firefight no less wasn't calming anybody's nerves. Sam however felt a little better once he heard the silenced shots from their expert snipers.

Gabriel and Roman down enough shooters for Dean to move. "Come on boy" Lucifer happily follows by Dean's side, they've almost caught up to Sam and Eddie when an enemy combatant comes out of nowhere, tackling Dean and pulling a knife. He hits the ground hard and smashes his head against a rock. The enemy was about to stab Dean when Lucifer lunges at the man and chomps down on his forearm before shaking his head violently and pulling the man off Dean, all while growling and snarling at the enemy. The enemy soldier pulls his pistol and aims it at Lucifer's head, Dean pulls the trigger on his rifle before the guy could even think about pulling his. Lucifer was still growling viciously and holding onto the guys arm even after he was dead. "It's okay demon, we're clear" He drops the arm and barks quietly. "Good boy Luke"

"Dean you good?" Sam and Eddie had seen the whole thing, Sam almost had a heart attack when the enemy pulled his gun. **'Eddie there's more bombs'**

"Yeah" Dean takes their hands as they help him stand up. "Your boys good too" As Dean says it Lucifer trots over to Sam and growls before sniffing the ground and running over to the base of the ridge, he barks quietly and sits. "More explosives"

"Dean there's also a truck at the bottom"

Eddie inspects the explosives Lucifer found. "Guys this thing is wired all the way to the top and there's no visible way to disarm it in time. We need to hurry"

"Sam send him up"

"Luke Jagen" Lucifer immediately starts sprinting up the mountain, the boys following not far behind. When they get to the top they see five enemy soldiers dead on the ground and Lucifer was currently being swung into the air over the ledge, he had ahold of the combatant's arm just like the last. When Luke swings back around it causes them to lose balance and fall off the cliff. "Luke drop it" He lets go of the mans arm before the weight could pull him with it, he continues to growl until Sam pats his shoulder and reconnects the leash.

Dean walks over to Rick. "Everyone alright?"

"Yeah we're good. Hey did your coms go out too?"

"Yep. Sorry that was my fault" Eddie walks over while writing down that Venom was telling him and looking for bombs himself. "Cut the right wire but there was an EMP attached somehow". . . **'The last few are over by the shipping containers, Eddie we don't have time to disarm it, its double possibly even triple wired'** . . "We have to go now, there is no way to disarm it in time"

Dean sighs and looks behind him when he heard the next chopper approaching. "Grimes, get the flares, let them know were up here"

"Yes Sir" Rick pulls a flare, strikes it and waves it in the air for the pilots to see. "Got them, come on get the prisoners ready" Kevin brings the civilian prisoners out of the building they were being held in and they board the chopper as it touches down by the ledge, there wasn't enough room for it to land on the ridge and Dean didn't like it one bit. "Alright Rick, Kev, Eddie, Sam, get on."

"Wait we think there's another prisoner somewhere look" Kevin hands Dean the notebook that Gabriel found.

Dean reads through it and cringes, "Waterboarding and electrical shocks, stoning, fight club, and what the hell is an ice tomb?"

"Oh my god, it's Dante's inferno?" Keven realizes it once Dean reads out the torture methods out loud.

"What?" Dean looks at the kid like he had a lobster crawling out his ear.

"All the torture methods, It's the nine rings of hell from the book Dante's Inferno"

"Alright explain. . Quickly"

"The first ring is limbo, that'd be the prisoners living conditions. Next is lust then gluttony, the electric shocks and waterboarding. The stoning is greed, fighting is anger. Eight is fraud, being kept with other prisoners and nine is treachery, the ice tomb"

"What about six and seven?" Dean flips the page of the notebook.

"Six is heresy and seven is violence. The seventh ring is broke up into three sections. The outermost ring holds murderers, they sink into a river of boiling blood and fire. The middle are suicides, turned into bushes and trees and profligates are torn apart by wild dogs. The inner ring holds blasphemers and sodomites, they reside in a desert of burning sand and burning rain. Six condemns heretics to an eternity in flaming tombs"

"There's one more entry, from the 22nd. 'Placed in a burning tomb'"

"Does that mean there dead?"

"Yeah kid, it does" Dean tosses the notebook onto the desk and exits the building. "Alright lets go, last choppers almost here"

"Wait what if the prisoner isn't dead yet?"

"Kid he's dead, that entry was from two days ago and I don't see any burning tombs do you?"

Kevin looks around and his eyes catch the shipping containers. "Yes, the containers. They would be perfect as a burning tomb but also keep the prisoners alive through it"

"Okay fine. You and Rick take the rescues and get out of here, the rest of us will check the containers"

"Yes Sir" Rick and Kevin board the chopper and calm the civilians. "Wait kid, did you find out where that last few keys went to, from Kandahar?"

"Yeah they opened the cages here, all except this one. . . Wait, Dean" He couldn't hear over the sound or the chopper. "Dean!" Kevin tosses Dean the last key just as the chopper takes off.

Dean catches it and yells back. "What's it for!?"

"The shipping containers!"

"Thanks!" Dean rushes over to where the containers were and hands Roman the key, he unlocks and opens the door to find two dead bodies.

"Shit that's ripe" He hands the key to Gabriel who unlocks one of the other containers as Roman checks the bodies. "There dead"

"This one's empty" Gabriel hands Dean the key and he unlocks the last container. When the door opens crying and whimpering could be heard.

"Hey it's okay, we're U.S. Navy SEALS, here to rescue you" Lucifer wags his tail and barks. "Shh don't scare him boy" Dean slowly gets closer to the prisoner, he could see how his skin was caked with sand and dirt, his hair and beard long and white and covered in his own blood. Dean kneels next to the prisoner and touches his shoulder. "You're safe now" He helps the prisoner stand and walk out of the container just as the last chopper touches down with only one side touching the ridge.

The rest of the team board the chopper and Dean reaches out to help the prisoner in, he freaks out and starts screaming and babbling in a language Dean didn't know. "It's okay we're gonna take you home"

 **'Eddie the bomb, the bomb'** . . "Sir we need to hurry, it's gonna blow as soon as the sun rises, thats two minutes"

"Alright" Dean grabs the other man by the shoulders and boards the chopper but he continues to fight Dean and falls off the chopper. "No Cas!" Dean was back in that day again, when he lost Cas. He dives out of the chopper and grabs the man again before stepping back onto the chopper as it took off, he loses his footing then Sam, Eddie, Roman, Gabriel and even Lucifer reach out and grab the both of them, pulling them back in before they could fall. They land on the floor of the chopper, the man embracing Dean. "Cas, Cas" Dean opens his eyes and looks at the man, breaking the flashback and bringing him back to reality.

"Dean" Sam touches his brother's shoulder.

"Yeah"

"It's not Cas"

"I know, I know. It's just I- I know" Dean sits up and somehow gets the man to let go of him, it felt like trying to pry a lion off a gazelle.

Lucifer goes over to the man and lays across his lap, wagging his tail and whimpering. He knew the man had been through alot, he could sense it.

Just as the sun peaks over the mountains the bombs on the ridge explode, causing the chopper to shake slightly. "Shit Brock, you we're right"

"When am I ever wrong?" . . **'The EMP, our coms'** . . "Okay, technically the EMP was your fault alright? You're supposed to catch stuff like that"

The man watches Eddie as he talks to Venom like as if he's used to people doing that.

"Don't worry about him, he's harmless" Roman smiles and nudges Eddie a little.

                                          **• • • •**

The flight back to base was unnervingly quiet, even Dean didn't like it. They safely land back at base and get off the chopper, the prisoner tucked under Dean's arm. The medical personnel come over with a gerni and blankets, the other rescues have already been transported to the hospital on base. "Alright these people are going to take care of you now, you can trust them" The man once again wouldn't let go of Dean. "Come on they need to check you out, make sure you're okay and help you if your not"

"No, no" Were the only coherent words that anyone could understand from the man since he was rescued. He pushes the nurses and doctors away, visually terrified and shaking uncontrollably. "Come on I need to debrief Ops, can you help me out here Donna"

"Okie dokey" Donna hanscum, she was head Doctor at the hospital, her hair streaked with blue and red making it look like the flag colors against her blond hair. She grabs a syringe and attaches the needle to the top then puts it in the man's arm and presses the plunger, administering 2 ml of lorazepam to sedate him.

"N-no! Please!" The man looks up at Dean and tears slip down his face as he blacksout then he's placed on the gerni and taken to the hospital.

Dean and the rest of the team debrief there superiors on what happened and get congratulated on a job well done. That night they drink and celebrate what was a mostly successful deployment, they'd be going home in the morning. Most importantly they say a few words for Echo, that turns into other soldiers telling stories of how they and Echo team would get through their past deployments together, tall tales of shenanigans and happy times. When someone brought up Ghazni Dean gets up from his chair around the fire pit and leaves. He's tried to think of anything else to keep the memory of what happened to Cas on that mission away, but nothing works, it always comes back to Cas.

                                            **• • • •**

_"CCCAAASSSS! NOOOO!" It was the same yet different. Cas jumped and fell but then he was on the chopper again, staring right at Dean. "Cas, I'm so sorry"_

_"Dean it's alright, you're still safe that's all that matters"_

_"I let you slip away, it's my fault"_

_"Dean sometimes things just happen without a reason"_

_"Cas, I got you killed"_

_"Dean you didn't get me killed, an enemy sniper took a shot at me, you had nothing to do with that, but even if you did, even if you were the one to pull the trigger . . . I'd forgive you"_

_**` ` ` `**_

Dean jolts awake in his bunk, it was dark out but the moon lit up the sky enough for some light to shine through the window. Dean looks at the foot of his bed and sees a dark figure sitting there. "What the hell!" Dean fumbles over the sheets and out of his bunk, waking Benny up in the process.

"Dean, it's not even midnight what are you doing?" He flips his light on and sees why. "Shit"

The prisoner they rescued was at the foot of Dean's bed. He had been washed and given new clothes to wear, small bandages covered the bridge of his nose and some on the side of his forehead. His beard and hair were no longer white and had been trimmed slightly to get out the knots that set in. "Benny go get the Doc, I'll keep an eye on him" Benny slips out of there shack and rushes for Donna's quarters. "Listen buddy, I'm sure you're happy to be free and all but you can't just come in here" The man holds out a folded peace of paper, Dean takes it and stands up. "What's this?" The man says nothing. "Okay" Dean opens the paper and reads it, then reads it again and again to make sure he wasn't making something up.

Dean's mind was blank, all that could be processed were the words he kept repeating over and over. 'Hello Dean' No matter what, he always greeted Dean like that. "Cas?" He slowley looks up at Dean with piercing blue eyes, Dean drops the peace of paper and slowly approaches the man, placing his hand on his cheek. The man flinches and looks away. Dean sits on his bunk next to him. "Cas. . . Baby it's okay. . You're safe now" Cas looks over at Dean, tears pooling in his eyes and they spill down his cheeks. "Sshhh" Dean wipes Cas' tears and kiss his forehead. "I got you"

"Dean!" Then Cas really started crying, he throws himself into Dean's arms despite the pain he was in and pulls Dean closer.

Dean was fighting tears of his own but couldn't help but let them go once he felt his husband in his arms again after what was a very long year. "It's okay handsome, I got you" Cas relaxed in Dean's arms and very quickly fell asleep. Dean doesn't know what he did to deserve this but all he knows is that everything was going to be alright.

"Dean!" Sam and Benny, along with the rest of Bravo and Alpha crowd around the shack. Sam and Benny come in with Donna, who had another syringe ready to go.

"No don't. He's okay, he can stay"

"Dean what if he's dangerous"

"It's Cas"

Everyone looked at each other and Sam spoke first. "Dean. You know it's not Cas"

"Yes it is. It is look. Look at him, it's Cas. Look at the note" Dean picks the paper up and hands it to Sam. "It's him" Cas stirs and wakes slightly. "It's okay baby"

"Holy Shit. It's Cas" Sam looks up, looking just as surprised as everyone else. "But how? I mean he was shot in the head then fell in the river. How did he survive?"

"I don't know how but I do know that no one is gonna take him away from me again" Dean shifts on the bed to a more protective position over Cas.

"That's okay love, no one's gonna take him away. If you want him to stay then he'll stay. Come on boys lets let them have some alone time" Donna smiles slightly and runs a hand over Dean's shoulder before leaving.

"Yeah we should go, Benny you can stay in our extra bunk tonight" Sam smiles at Dean and lightly places a hand on Cas' back before he and the rest of the team leave.

Gabriel lingered at the door for a moment. "Dean?"

"Yeah come on Gabe" He had to see for himself that his brother was alive and to give Dean the blanket he had draped over him for Cas.

"Gabriel?" Cas looks up at his brother and smiles as best he could.

"Hey bro" Gabriel smiles and places a hand on his back. "I'll let you guys get some sleep" He stands and leaves, closing the door behind him.

Dean pulls the covers over him and Cas then lays down next to him. Cas whimpers in pain as he gets closer and lays his head on Dean's chest, just above his heart. It doesn't take long for Cas to start snoring again, a sound Dean thought he'd never hear again. He smiles as happy tears fall down the side of his face and he strokes his husband's back. This birthday turned out to be the best one yet, the part of Dean that was left here so long ago was coming home with him in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.O.W. {Prisoner of War}
> 
> DZ {Drop Zone}
> 
> Charlie Mike {Continue Mission}
> 
> QRF {Quick Reaction Force}
> 
> EMP {Electro-Magnetic Pulse}
> 
> Schützen (Shet-zin) {Protect} -German- 
> 
> Jagen (Ya-in) {Hunt} -German-


	5. Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean wakes to something unexpected and something else isn't quite right. . But what could it be?
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry this update took so long, it was originally supposed to one whole Chapter with the next one but it would have been too long of a wait.  
> As always hope you enjoy.

"You're gonna have to jump". . ."CCAAAAAAAAASSS!"

` ` ` `

"NO!" An explosion shook Dean from his nightmare and his panicked state only heightened his other senses. Yelling and gunfire could be heard throughout the base. "Shit . . Shit!" Dean gets up and looks through the blinds, he sees Sam and Benny go by with their rifles. He grabs his pistol and exits the building behind Sam. "Hey! What the hell's going on?"

"Small plane came out of nowhere, landed just West of the base. Six combatants came out and started shooting. Three still standing, location currently unknown. They set off a smokescreen as soon as they touched down" Sam keeps his eyes locked on the entrance to their team's barracks as Benny unlocks their war room.

Dean was the first one in, immediately grabbing his rifle and strapping on his vest then he places his pistol in his thigh holster and takes over watch as Sam grabs his gear as well. He hears footsteps and voices approaching. "Color of the sky!?"

"Red Sir!" Gabriel and Roman come around the corner and hit the floor just as an enemy combatant comes into Dean's line of sight, he neutralizes the threat before it could become one. "Thanks. He came out of nowhere" Gabriel dashes inside to grab his gear.

"You guys okay?" Dean checks around the corner of the weapons building and Roman keeps watch in the other direction after re-claiming his gear that the enemy took.

"Yeah we're fine, just glad you were here" Gabriel loads his rifle as he joins Dean and Roman in watching for enemy activity.

"Two left. You think they split up?" Sam exists the war room and Benny locks it back up.

"Let's just assume they did. Where's the demon?"

"Left him with Charlie so she could get some measurements"

"Where to first?" Dean looks at his brother and Benny.

"Well we came from the shooting range so the entire South side should be clear"

"Alright this way it is" Dean turns right around the corner of their barracks, heading West towards sickbay. The others followed and watched their leaders six as he slowly leads them through the base. Once they get to the main landing strip the group hides behind one of their jets take off flaps that can be lowered down and raised from within the central hub. "Check your corners" Dean and Benny peer around their side of the flap as Sam and Roman do the same on their side.

"Clear over here" Sam turns and places a hand on Dean's shoulder.

Dean however doesn't give the all clear. "Enemy combatant ten clicks away, he's with Kevin"

Once they get closer Dean calls out to Kevin. "Color of the moon?"

"Black!" Kevin yells out before coming around the corner and running in the opposite direction with the rest of the guys.

Dean liked to use color codes when approaching someone that they couldn't see or when one of their guys was supposed to be coming back alone but wasn't. He didn't care to much as to the question that was asked, just as long as it makes sense to answer with a color but the answer to the question couldn't naturally be Green, Yellow, Red or Black otherwise enemies could answer with a color making the team think it was okay to let their guard down or they could be put on the defensive for nothing. Green means that you're all clear, no threat. Yellow means that an enemy or unknown person is with you but the team should play along and pretend to believe whatever story the they give them at first. Red means an immediate threat, as soon as you see your team mates you better hit the deck because there gonna shoot whoever follows. Black however was the worst, it tells the team to immediately start running in the other direction because there was a bomb.

Just as the boys get out of range and behind a wall, the suicide bombers vest goes off, flames and shrapnel flew in every direction.

Dean coughs as he looks back at the carnage. He covers his nose with his hand, trying to keep out the smell of burnt flesh that filled the air. Pieces of the enemy combatant still lingered along with the thick black smoke sill spewing from where the man once stood. "You alright Kev?" Dean helps Kevin up from where he took cover and checks him over, making sure he was okay. 

"Yeah, thanks. Don't know if I'd still be here without you guys" Kevin couldn't take his eyes off the singed shadow of the man who just held him hostage.

"Hey don't worry about that, you're okay he didn't get you" Dean turns when he hears someone yell.

"Bomb! Get down!" Seconds later Eddie dives over the East launch flap and grabs onto the top of it just as the last suicide bomber detonates his vest. "Woooah. Oh! Hey guys" Eddie notices his teammates below him and braces himself as he lets go, he slides down on his back and almost landed on his face but didn't thanks to Sam and Benny catching him.

"Eddie? How the hell did you get up there?" The sniper shoulders his rifle and holds onto the strap with one hand.

He looks up then back over to his teammate.

"I jumped"

Roman looks at the height of the launch flap then back to Eddie then back up again. "That things like twenty feet tall"

Eddie shrugs to which Roman looks even more confused. "What? He had a bomb and those things suck. I should know, I'm an expert"

"That was the last one right?" Kevin asks once he stopped shaking, looking between Sam and Dean for confirmation.

"Yeah Kev, it should be" Dean shares a look with his brother before the sound of distant yelling takes his attention.

"Oh hey by the way that prisoner you rescued yesterday, they just put him in ICU but the doctors say he'll make a full recovery" Sam's words bring his brother's attention back to him.

"What what? Cas was with me though" His words bring him back to when he woke up that morning, the bed was empty except for him. 'Cas wasn't there' Dean looks up at Sam. "Cas was never really here was he?"

"Dean what are you talking about?" Sam looks over at his brother as he starts walking away and disappeares into the growing crowd of cleanup crew and on lookers. "Dean? Dean!"

"What about the guys girlfriend and the old man?" Kevin asks.

"There fine, few minor injuries but it could've been worse. Hey Kevin can you find Charlie and tell her-"

"Tell her what?" Charlie walks up, Lucifer happily striding by her side sporting a new collar.

"Perfect timing. New collar?" Sam smiles when his K-9 partner barks enthusiastically and wags his tail.

"Mmhhmm. But you know I only give the best to my boys" Charlie hints to the fact that it's not just a collar.

"What's it do?" Sam asks, already knowing that whatever it is it would work flawlessly.

"Comes with GPS so you can track him on long hunts and a 360° Micro Camera so you can always see whatevers around him" Charlie smiles and pets Lucifer.

"Thanks Charlie, I can test it right now in fact. Luke find Dean" Lucifer sniffs the air and wags his tail when he has his scent. "Suche" Sam waits for his partner to get out of sight before taking a small square device that Charlie handed him. "It's giving us a signal to follow" 

"Log in to your work profile on your phone so I can send you the frequency file" Charlie takes her phone out as she talks and does the same.

Sam grabs his phone and opens a new tab after bringing the internet up, it takes him directly to a login page for the U.S. Navy. He logs in and opens his inbox. "Alright I'm in"

Charlie selects the correct file and sends it to Sam.

"Got it" He announced as soon as it showed up with a tiny image of a lock in the corner of the message and numbers just under that, 1:00..0:59..0:58..0:57.

A message appears on Charlie's screen asking for her authorisation code, she quickly enters her code before the file expired and deleted Itself. At first the new policy was a mess, people constantly complained about it until one day it actually saved a soldier's life. See if a soldier were to enter his authorisation code backwards it still unlocks whatever it is he had access to but it sends out a distress signal to directly contact their teammates and superiors. The same thing happens when a file gets deleted due to no code being entered, unless immediately corrected with a call by both parties. Charlie's design of course.

"Thanks Charlie" Sam places the square device in his back pocket and opens the file. The document takes him to his field tools and he enters the new frequency under the title 'Collar', once he hits the Create new tool icon it gets placed alphabetically next to 'Coms' 'DroneA' 'DroneB' and 'Harness'.

"You mind if I join you?" Charlie asks before Sam could get too far.

"Not at all, if anything needs adjusting I won't have to look too far" Sam smiles as Charlie catches up and she pretends to be offended.

"You actually think my work might need adjusting? Have I ever given you anything that doesn't work perfectly? I know I haven't, because I'm awesome" They share a laugh but Charlie noticed the worried look that Sam was trying to hide. "So you looking for Dean for anything specific?"

"Yeah he said something before he walked away that didn't make sense and I just wanna make sure he's okay" They follow the signal to Bravo's barracks and Lucifer was laying in front of Dean and Benny's bunk room. "Well it works perfectly, of course. Come on let's go" Sam knocks on the door but receives no answer. "Dean? Dean come on let me in" They hear the sound of shuffling then a click, when Sam opens the door he sees Dean sitting on the floor against the wall. "Dean? Hey what was that about back there?"

"It was a dream. It was just a dream. He isn't really back is he?" Dean shoves his face into his hands and holds back tears.

"Dean what do you mean?" Sam askes as he sits on one of the steps outside of Dean's bunk room.

"Cas. He was back but now he's gone. . . It was a dream and I'm so damn stupid for believing is was real"

Lucifer whimpers and whines as he walks up to Sam. "What is it boy? His K-9 partner barks loudly before jumping into the bunk room and sniffing under Dean's bunk, he whimpers and wags his tail. "What'd you find buddy?" Sam looks under the bunk and smiles slightly.

"You think this is funny?" Dean looks up at his brother about to shove him out the door.

"No not at all. I just understand why you think Cas is gone and how what I said to Kevin would have confused you" Sam pulls Lucifer back and Charlie holds him by his collar to keep him outside.

"What are you talking about?" Dean looks between Sam and Charlie.

"Dean look under your bed" Sam pulls the drooping covers up so Dean could get a better view under his bunk.

When he looks he's shocked to see those piercing blue eyes looking back at him. "Cas? Baby. . What are you doing under there?"

"Dean?" Cas watches both brothers intently. "Guns" Cas must have woke up just before Dean and hid under his bunk because of the gunfire.

"Hey it's okay handsome. That was taken care of, you're safe" Dean pushes his left hand under the bed and takes Cas' hand. "Come on, I got you baby"

Dean manages to get Cas out from under his bunk and practically wraps his whole body around him. Charlie looks like she's just seen a ghost and in her defense, she has. "Cas is alive? But how? The sniper and the fall and the river should have killed him. Not that I'm not ecstatic about him being alive because trust me that's amazing . . But . . . how?"

"I don't know. He was the last prisoner we freed from Mazari Sharif, probably would have been left behind if things went as planned" Dean holds onto Cas like he would disappear if he let go.

Sam pulls his phone out when he gets a text. "Dean, Crowley wants us in Ops for another AAR"

Dean sighs and hugs Cas a little tighter. "Cas. I'm gonna have to go for little bit, do you mind if Luke stays here with you while I'm gone?" 

Cas nods his head and smiles when Lucifer bounds into the bunk room and enthusiastically licks his face then jumps up on Dean's bunk and lays down. 

"Good boy" Dean helps Cas stand up then makes sure to tuck the covers around him before leaving with Sam, Charlie decides to stay with Castiel in case he needed anything or if something else happend, she couldn't just leave him alone. Lucifer was a good companion but he needed another person there to look after him as well.

As soon as Dean opens the door to Ops he knows that they were in for a long meeting. It takes Two hours for the higher ups to rip apart the whole ordeal that in itself didn't even take up Fifteen minutes start to finish. After the meeting was over Dean finds Cas and Charlie sitting outside on the benches eating sandwiches. 

"They said we'd be wheels up at Ten sharp" Dean states to Charlie before sitting next to Cas who was happily finishing off his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Crap that only gives me Forty minutes to pack, thanks" Charlie takes off in a hurry to her room so she could pack.

"Are you still hungry?" Cas nods and Dean smiles. "Alright. I need to pack first and inform Bobby that you'll be going home with me, then we can grab something to eat before the flight home. Sound good?"

"I can help you pack" Cas looks at Dean and smiles the best he could with his injuries. "It'll make it faster"

"No, baby you don't have to" Dean places his hand on Cas' shoulder.

"I want to. Please" Castiel freakin Novak and his big blue eyes, those same eyes that were always getting Dean into trouble, not that he minded.

"Okay Cas, you can help"

Most of the soldiers that were walking by paid no attention to Cas until Dean sat next to him. After that when soldiers passed they would do a double take, some triple, and whispers started spreading throughout the base. 

"Isn't that one of the prisoners Bravo rescued yesterday?" A young man asks his Sergeant.

"Yeah"

"What's he doing out here?" The Marine asks again.

When a small crowd starts to form, off to the side of where they were sitting, Cas notices and pulls Dean closer. "Dean" He looks over at the group of soldiers then back at Dean. "Why?"

"Why what handsome?" Dean lays his arm over Cas' shoulders and soothes his husband when he retreats into the safety of Dean's arms.

"Staring. . At us" Castiel couldn't be holding onto Dean any tighter, he was afraid that if he let go this would turn out to be a dream and he'd wake up back in his cell, back with his torturers.

Dean looks up at the growing crowd and holds onto Cas, rubbing his back with one hand and stroking the back of his neck with the other. "It's okay, it's okay baby" He listens as the whispers from the soldiers get louder.

"Why is he so close to the Master Chef? Wait now they're hugging?" Jack Kline, Marine, it was his second deployment.

"Hey wait a minute. . . Isn't that? . . Oh my god it is! That's Commander Castiel Novak!" Hank Voigt, Jack's Sergeant, his comment captured Cas' attention.

"What? Can't be. He died in Ghazni a year ago" Delta Team's leader seems to question his own statement once he sees Cas. "Didn't he?"

"Well they never did find a body" Delta's sniper added.

When he hears his name and looks back at the crowd of soldiers, their whispers seem to just disappear as everyone's attention shifts to Cas. Dean could tell he was starting to get uncomfortable so he gets up, Cas staying tucked into Dean's side as they make their way back to Dean's bunk room.

"What are they like dating now? I thought they were both married"

Dean stops dead in his tracks and looks over at who just spoke. "We are both married. To each other. He's my husband" Dean couldn't believe what he just said, he wasn't ashamed of Cas being his husband he just knew how most of the world would see their relationship.

"Oh shit. . . . I am so sorry Master Chief. . . It must've been really hard thinking that your husband was dead" Jack spoke with sincerity and shortly after raises his hand in a salute, the other soldiers following his gesture. "Master Chef Novak, we thank you for your Bravery and Honor to your Country. I hope to have half the courage you have some day Sir. We are very grateful that your light still shines. Master Cheif Winchester, we thank you for bringing back the Legend that's inspired so many of us to try out for the Teams and the inspiration that motivated us through the toughest parts of Hell week and all that followed. When an entire squadron couldn't get through, they sent Bravo Team the best tear one operators in the business and even after Master Cheif Novak's apparent death, Bravo continued to excel under your leadership"

Dean wasn't expecting that, especially after he admitted he and Cas were married. He excepted some homophobic crap to get shoved in their faces but instead they got a heart warming speech as well as a salute from practically the entire base. "That was . . Wow. Thank you Jack, it means alot"

"I don't need any thanks, you're the hero here Sir" Jack checks his watch and excuses himself to finish packing, as did the rest of the soldiers.

After that wonderful encounter, Cas held his head a little higher and a faint smile still lingered as well. With his help Dean finished packing before it was announced over the loudspeaker that the 10:00 departure is moved to 9:35 due to an unforeseen storm that was fast approaching. 

"Crap, okay we have to hurry, and let's hope Crowley isn't still there" Dean leads Cas through the base, reaching Ops quickly. Bobby was still inside packing up what was left of his equipment. "Bobby I need to speak with you" 

"Dean? What do you need?" Bobby finishes up then walks over to Dean. He catches sight of Cas and stops dead in his tracks. "Cas? Is . . Is that really you?"

Castiel looks up when he hears his name and smiles remembering the friendly face. "Bobby"

"Oh I have to be dreamin" Bobby gets closer and places a hand on Cas' shoulder, needing to make sure it was really him. "How are you still here?"

"What the bloody hell is going on here? Why is the refugee outside of the hospital and in my operations room no less!" Crowley had a fierce scowl as he approached the small group. "We need to be wheels up in five minutes, get him back to the hospital now!"

"Crowley for once shut your damn mouth and come here"

He was about to argue then listens and walks over seeing for himself what Bobby had just discovered. "Is. .Is that?" Crowley stares at Cas for a moment. "Can't be"

"Oh It's really him Crow" Bobby smiles the instant Crowley's face goes from confused to angry. "What's the matter, still don't like your old team nickname?"

He doesn't answer the question, just turns to Dean and Cas and actually smiles. "Castiel It's good to have you back. I'm correct to assume that he'll be flying back with us? . . Right, let's go before we get left behind boys. Storm looks like she's gonna be a problem if we don't get moving"

"Dean. . Food?" Cas looks at Dean as his stomach grumbles.

"Right, let's go. Quickly" Dean and Cas hustle over to the cafeteria and grab all the leftovers from breakfast that they could carry. They board the plane and distribute the food amongst everyone, after eating their fill Cas and Dean find a quiet corner and share some alone time.

The storm started to pick up not long after departure, it got so bad that their quick refuel in Turkey turned into a Four and a half hour layover. 

Most of Bravo and Alpha went out to drink and the single ones went looking for one night stands, the usual when they're stuck between work and home.

Dean however decided to stay with Cas in the comfort of the plane. The cargo hanger in the Antonov An-124 sounded like a symphony as the rain struck the tempered metal of the huge transport aircraft.

Castiel is draped over his husband's body, listening to the rain as they gently glide back and forth in Dean's sleeper hammock. Every flash of lightning and clap of thunder had Cas clinging to Dean for dear life, the only thing that soothed him was Dean's singing. 

Dean being Dean he went for his go to band when he was nervous. 

"Isn't that Metallica?" Cas looks up with a smile.

"What? It calms me down, plus it's the only song that I could think of off the top of my head"

"I didn't say stop" Cas kisses Dean's cheek when he starts singing again.

Once the storm passed and everyone was called back to the plane they were able to take off and start the long flight home once again.

"So what did the two lovebirds do while everyone was gone eh?" Gabriel quirks as he plops down into his hammock and grabs a blanket from Sam.

"Shhhh he's sleeping" Dean also accepts a blanket from his brother and makes sure Cas was tucked in first before zipping his hammock up halfway so they didn't fall out if the plane hit rough turbulence while they were asleep.

When everyone had a blanket Sam too turns in and Lucifer happily jumps in the hammock with him and curls up by his feet.

A few hours into the flight Cas begins to toss and whimper, waking Dean and Sam as well.

"Is he okay?" Sam looks over and Lucifer whines.

"Sounds like a nightmare" Dean tries to soothe his husband with his words. "It's okay Cas, I got you. You're safe with me baby" Dean starts singing the song from before and Castiel calms with each verse he sung and was soon sleeping peacefully once again.

"Dean whats wrong?" Sam noticed that his brother was crying silently to himself.

"Sammy I don't know what to do. He's gonna be hurtin' in a way that I'll never understand. I'm so damn happy that he's back but I don't know what to do to help him"

"Just be there for him and give him time. He'll open up when the time is right and then that's when you'll know what the next step will be" 

"But Sam, what if I miss the signs or I don't know what to do. I can't let him suffer alone"

Sam reaches over, placing his hand on Dean's forearm. "He's got you, he'll be just fine" With that the two brothers drift back off to sleep.

The rest of the flight was quiet, everyone was exhausted from their extra trip out to the East and their little excursion in Turkey. For once everything seemed peaceful. But you know they say, the calm before the storm and whatnot. Dean tried his best to push that from his mind as he fell deeper into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAR {After Action Report}
> 
> Antonov An-124 {Large Transportation Aircraft}


End file.
